wrestlingfanforlife

Looking at it comparatively to some of the "super powers" of Division 1, UW will be hard pressed to find the funding necessary to keep talent or to bring in top-tier transfers. There is support for the program outside of the university. However, with the current state of the program, Bucky will find it difficult to keep that support or to bring in new money. People are generally suffering "Bono burn-out." He came into Madison with fire, talked about building the program, etc. His energy is palpable; however, the results have not matched his energy. I am honestly not sure if a new coach could do any better given the current state of affairs. For a BIG program, even the team facilities have to be considered subpar.

The general consensus in the Wisconsin wrestling community is that it is time for Bono to move on. However, unless the university/collective/et al figure out a way to raise the funds to be competitive, the Badgers wrestling program is dead; it just doesn't know it yet. Badger meets come with little energy. While the wrestlers on the team give their best, the difference in talent level between the Badgers and most of the rest of the BIG is more than evident. Pretty sure that the Hawkeyes brought more fans to the meet than the home team did.

IMHO... brown sugar cinnamon is the BEST flavor. You also MUST try Cinnamon Roll Toaster Strudel by Pillsbury... but in the air fryer! So, yes, no longer toaster strudel, just better.

Note: I am a life-long Hawkeye fan but live just south of Madison. We are Badger wrestling season ticket holders. Bucky has commitments from a handful of in-state guys. While they are great wrestlers, they are not the best of the in-state talent. Heiser, who should win his fourth wrestling for my local high school, is off to Missouri. Herm, another great talent, is off to South Dakota St with Neitzel, a northwestern WI kid. There is very little fanfare concerning the class of 2025. Honestly, until they are on campus and in the program, I am not sure the fan base trusts their commitment. They got a couple pretty solid in-state guys out of the class of 24, but they weren’t “THOSE GUYS” who went to Penn State and Missouri, respectively. We have the season tickets, in part, because we get to see them wrestle some great teams every other year. The fan base seems pretty much done with Bono. The Badger program simply does not have what it takes to be competitive in the BIG. Many are worried the program will not survive long-term, given NIL and the new scholarship “limits.”

Why is today a "great day to be a Badger?"

Notre Dame has made very clear their intent to remain an independent, especially given that the football playoff is now a 12 team format… headline feels like clickbait.

Wisconsin season ticket holder but lifelong Hawkeye fan… I know, right. 1. Wisconsin’s wrestling facilities are abysmal. They sorely need an upgrade. 2. The Badgers simply cannot compete with the NIL capabilities of Penn State and others. What is the answer to increase the collective funding? 3. Like it or not, having Askren “on board with whomever the Badgers might hire is extremely important… losing too many high-quality wrestlers to out-of-state programs. The in-state wrestlers who stay, honestly, are not “those guys!” 4. Attendance at home meets is not amazing… wrestling is most definitely a fringe sport at Madison. Can changing that help grow the program? Gents, these are just my random thoughts about the program; take them for what they are worth.

Question for the masses: should Hamiti look to transfer?

Carr with a gift in the finals.

Listed capacity is 7,039… NOW Arena is over 11,000 Allstate Arena is listed 18,500

A capacity of barely over 7,000… and doesn’t look very impressive. on

2025-Northwestern 2026-Penn State Will Northwestern host on campus or at another venue in Chicagoland?

If he is successful on the football field as a freshman, will Badger fans ever see him in a singlet?

One of the trends on the Wisconsin wrestling forum is praise for the Wisconsin gents on the team… really probably having the opposite effect the poster wanted. Can anyone tell me how Messenbrink, O’Toole, and Keckeisen did over the weekend?

This is an interesting topic; on the Wisconsin wrestling forum, a Reader to CMU thread was started. That thread predates this thread. While the early response was a bit snarky… Minnesota fan coming on the Wisconsin forum to stir the pot, it now seems there just might be a little something to the Reader to CMU? thread. If that happens, that might increase the murmurs of discontent with Bono to full fledged screams for immediate change!!

Nicolar Rivera, the current Badger at 133, is rumored to be going down to 125 for next season.

Have heard that Rivera (133) will be able to make 125 next year.

Yes, you absolutely will be seeing more posts from me. We have one child left at home; he chose not to wrestle. We have a blended family, and my boys were wrestlers from a young age. Alas, they are grown and doing amazing things in adulthood; what we miss the most is simply the time with them spent at countless tournaments!!

Spurley was out most of this season due to injury; I believe his first matches of the year were at Regionals.

You are welcome! I understand the pride of having Wisconsin kids on the roster. However, when they aren't "the guys" who could and would elevate the program, it gets tough to stomach after seeing the success of the hammers who thrive outside the state!

I have followed and enjoyed this forum both here and at its previous site for many years. However, this post made me want to sign up and reply, not as a negative response, but to give rationale as to why many Badger wrestling fans are calling for Bono to be gone. First, I have been around the sport of wrestling since I was old enough to know what wrestling actually was. During high school, I lived in Northwest Illinois; we got IPT (Iowa Public Television) on our farm. Yes, I am a life-long Iowa Hawkeyes wrestling fan. Now, I live about 25 minutes south of Madison, WI. I met and married a woman with no wrestling background or knowledge... needless to say, she has embraced the sport I love, and we are now Badger Wrestling season ticket holders. To address the why: Bono and staff tout the importance of having in-state kids on the Badger roster. However, that sentiment really is working against Bono. When you take a look at the Badger state kids that Bono does not have on the roster, it is frustrating to see their success not in a Badger singlet. O'Toole, Mocco, and Whiting at Mizzou, Keckeisen at UNI, Messenbrink now and the Mirasolas next year at Penn State, and countless other possible All Americans at other programs make the current roster less than impressive. Going back to Askren, Pell, and Wagner all ending up at Mizzou, that pipeline was clearly established. Additionally, the rocky relationship, supposedly on the mend, between Bono and Askren does not help. While Wisconsin does have subpar facilities, this does not equal doom and gloom for the program. As alluded to in other threads, a growing number of Badger fans are tired of Bono's antics, and the in-state kids the Badgers get do not compare to the list above! If you look at the Wisconsin kids on the Badger roster this year and their records, it is not very impressive. However, one very pleasant surprise for the Badgers has been Shane Leigel, a grad transfer from Division 3 Loras, and a multiple-time Wisconsin State Champion from River Valley High School. In a nutshell, the Badgers are missing out massively on the "great ones" who keep getting away and are settling for the second-tier recruits, most of whom are just not very successful in a Badger singlet. Plus, that whole NIL thing!