The Wisconsin Badgers are an integral part of the Big 10 conference, Division I's oldest conference.  The Big 10 conference spans most of the Midwest and into Pennsylvania.  Member schools of the conference include Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Northwestern, Ohio State, Penn State, and Purdue.  Despite its name, the Big 10 conference actually has 11 teams.  Aside from being the oldest conference in Division I, the Big 10 conference is also the only Division I conference whose members all belong to the Association of American Universities, a prestigious research consortium.

Since its inception in 1889, Wisconsin Badgers football has had its share of triumphs and disappointing defeats.  During the inaugural season, the Badgers played two games that still stand on the record books; winning by the greatest margin and losing by the greatest margin. The Badgers defeated UW-Whitewater Warhawks 106-0 and the following week were defeated by the Minnesota Gophers 63-0.  Since that game in 1890, the Badgers have faced the Gophers 118 times making them the most played rivalry around.

In their early years, the Wisconsin Badgers won three conference titles.   By 1952, the Associated Press awarded the team its first number one ranking in the Big Ten conference.  In addition, the Badgers made the first of many Rose Bowl appearances.  They lost to the University of Southern California and then lost again in 1959 and 1962.  These losses marked the beginning of a losing era in Badgers football.  It wasn't until the 1980s that the Badgers finally had winning seasons.

Perhaps the most recognized coach of Wisconsin Badgers football is Barry Alvarez. When he became the coach in 1990, the Badgers won their first conference title and made their first Rose Bowl appearance in more than thirty years.  This time, the Badgers won the Rose Bowl 21-16, defeating UCLA. Alvarez proceeded to lead the Badgers to tow more conference titles and 11 more bowl appearances, including two more Rose Bowls. Alvarez left coaching in 2005 to become UW's athletic director, leaving Bret Bielema as the head coach of the Badgers.

Wisconsin Badger fans are no stranger to the team's loveable mascot, affectionately known as Bucky Badger.  Bucky's official name is Buckingham U. Badger.  Originally, the Badgers used a real badger as their mascot.  However, the real badger was too feisty to control so they retired him to the Henry Vilas Zoo.  Then, they used a raccoon dressed as badger and called it Regdab (badger spelled backwards).  Finally, an art student created a head piece for the mascot, and a contest was held to give the mascot a permanent name.  In 1973, the assistant attorney general thought it would be a nice idea to change the mascot to a Holstein cow named Henrietta Holstein.  He thought it would be more kid-friendly mascot.  Badger fans would not have any of it and thus Bucky Badger remains the team's beloved mascot.

Avid Wisconsin Badgers fan are no strangers to Camp Randall Stadium, home of Badgers football.  The stadium has enjoyed some recent renovations and a new turf.  Camp Randall was one of the first stadiums to convert to artificial turf in 1968.  Most recently, a special brand of artificial grass called Field Turf was installed at Camp Randall, just in time for the 2003 season.  The opposing team's locker room used to be painted pink in hopes of negatively affecting their play.  The Athletic department decided that that was not a good idea so they repainted the locker rooms a blue known as "prison blue" because Wisconsin prison cells have the same color.

Fans also enjoy the famous fifth quarter tradition where the UW Marching Band performs fan favorites like "On Wisconsin," and the "Beer Barrel Polka." In addition to football, Camp Randall has hosted various other events.  Pink Floyd, Genesis, U2, and the Rolling Stones have all held concerts at the stadium.  The Badgers will host the Michigan ice hockey team for the Culver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic on February 6^th, 2010.