The Heckler posted:I do have a question for anyone here with an opinion on it. Why is it that everyone says UW is such a hard sell for recruits? Location? Weather? Academic Standards? or is it just as simple as the UW football program is considered "boring"?
I grew up near GB and I have only been to Madison once in my lifetime when I saw UW lose to NW something like 6-3 in the early 80's. I had an absolute blast in Madison and I have nieces and nephews that go there and every single person raves about the place. Even my in laws from Illinois say UW is one of the best.
I guess the first thing people will say is the weather. But it isn't like the rest of the Big Ten isn't cold and if you have spent any time during the winter in Michigan, PA, or god awful Ohio (which is where I live) it isn't like UW is any worse.
It isn't like the city is that remote either. If you think it is try driving to State College, Pa sometime talk about a place that is small and REMOTE.
Sorry for the ramble but I was just curious what others think.
I've lived all over the country and been to almost all the campuses in the Big 10 (I've not been to Rutgers or Penn State). Madison is probably one of the prettiest campuses in the country, and probably the best in the Big 10 (Northwestern might be the only competition with the view of Lake Michigan in Evanston). It's hard to beat sitting on the Terrace on a nice day. It's certainly nicer than Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and most of the SEC campuses. Yes, it gets cold in December through February, but I can't imagine it's comfortable to do summer practices in Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, Tallahassee, Clemson, etc.
I think there's a perception that the athletic programs are "boring." Basketball has the same problem. Madison is nicer campus than Lexington, Kentucky or Lawrence, Kansas among others, but it just doesn't have the history.
Badger sports suffered from about a 5 decade dry spell, and people 45 and older never heard Keith Jackson (or Billy Packer/Dick Vitale in basketball) calling big national TV games from Madison in the 1960s-1980s when college football and basketball really exploded in public consciousness. That's what Wisconsin suffers from, the lack of prestige from previous generations. At least that's the only thing that makes sense to me given the football team has now been good for 25 years and elite for 20 years (6 top 10 finishes in that time frame). The basketball team has been to 6 Sweet 16s in the last 7 years and is going to miss the tournament for the first time this century this year. Yet, despite developing NBA lottery picks (Devin Harris, Kaminsky, Dekker) and having 32 alumni on opening day NFL rosters this year they can't get the equivalent of 5 star guys consistently to either program.