Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football team is the intercollegiate football team of University of Wisconsin – Madison . The Badgers have competed in the Big Ten Conference since its formation in 1896 . They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium , the fourth - oldest stadium in college football . Wisconsin has had two Heisman Trophy winners , Alan Ameche and Ron Dayne , and have had eight former players inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame . As of January 1 , 2013 , the Badgers have an all - time record of 644 – 476 – 51 . Team name origin . The team ' s nickname originates in the early history of Wisconsin . In the 1820s and 1830s , prospectors came to the state looking for minerals , primarily lead . Without shelter in the winter , the miners had to " live like badgers " in tunnels burrowed into hillsides . Team history . The early years ( 1899 – 1912 ) . The first Badger football team took the field in 1889 , losing the only two games it played that season . In 1890 , Wisconsin earned its first victory with a 106 – 0 drubbing of Whitewater Normal School ( now the University of Wisconsin – Whitewater ) , still the most lopsided win in school history . However , the very next week the Badgers suffered what remains their most lopsided defeat , a humiliating 63 – 0 loss at the hands of the University of Minnesota . Since then , the Badgers and Gophers have met 122 times , making Wisconsin vs Minnesota the most - played rivalry in the Football Bowl Subdivision . Upon the formation of the Big Ten conference in 1896 , Wisconsin became the first - ever conference champion with a 7 – 1 – 1 record . Over the next ten years , the Badgers won or shared the conference title three more times ( 1897 , 1901 , and 1906 ) , and recorded their first undefeated season , going 9 – 0 – 0 ( 1901 ) . With the exception of their second undefeated season in 1912 , in which they won their fifth Big Ten title . The climb back to dominance ( 1942 – 1962 ) . 1942 was an important year for Wisconsin football . On October 24 , the # 6 ranked Badgers defeated the # 1 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at Camp Randall , catapulting Wisconsin to the # 2 spot in the AP poll . Unfortunately for the Badgers , their national championship hopes were dashed in a 6 – 0 defeat by the Iowa Hawkeyes the following week . Nevertheless , Wisconsin won the remainder of its games , finishing the season 8 – 1 – 1 and # 3 in the AP , while garnering the Helms Athletic Foundation vote for National Champion . The Badgers experienced great success during the 1950s , finishing in the AP Top 25 eight times that decade . In 1952 , the team received its first # 1 ranking by the Associated Press . That season , the Badgers again claimed the Big Ten title and earned their first trip to the Rose Bowl . There they were defeated 7 – 0 by the Southern California , and would finish the season ranked # 11 in the AP . In 1954 after a 7 - 2 season Wisconsin ' s Alan Ameche became the first badger to win the Heisman Trophy . Wisconsin returned to the Rose Bowl as Big Ten Champions in 1959 , but fell to the Washington Huskies , 44 - 8 . In 1962 , the Badgers earned their eighth Big Ten title and faced the top - ranked USC Trojans in the Rose Bowl . Despite a narrow 42 – 37 defeat , the Badgers still ended the season ranked # 2 in both the AP and Coaches polls ( post - bowl rankings were not introduced until later in the decade ) . Wisconsin football experienced little success for the remainder of the 1960s , reaching a low point with back - to - back winless seasons in 1967 and 1968 . After languishing through the 1970s , the team had a string of seven - win seasons from 1981 – 84 under Dave McClain . During that time the Badgers played in the Garden State Bowl ( 1981 ) , Independence Bowl ( 1982 ) , and Hall of Fame Classic Bowl ( 1984 ) . McClain ' s death during spring practice in 1986 sent the Badgers into free fall . From 1986 to 1990 , the Badgers won a total of nine games . Return to relevance with Alvarez era ( 1990 – 2005 ) . In 1990 , Barry Alvarez became the head coach of the Badgers and , following three losing seasons ( including a 1 – 10 campaign in his first year ) , Alvarez led the Badgers to their first Big Ten championship and first Rose Bowl appearance in over 30 years . On January 1 , 1994 Wisconsin defeated UCLA 21 – 16 to claim its first Rose Bowl victory . Over his 16 - year tenure as head coach , Alvarez led the Badgers to two more conference championships ( one outright , one shared ) , eleven bowl games ( going 8 – 3 ) , two more Rose Bowl victories ( 1999 and 2000 ) , and a # 4 ranking in the final AP Poll of the ' 99 season . Bret Bielema era ( 2006 – 2012 ) . Following the 2005 season , Alvarez resigned as headcoach in order to focus on his duties as athletic director , a position he had assumed in 2004 . He named his defensive coordinator , Bret Bielema , as his successor . From 2006 to 2011 , Bielema led the Badgers to six consecutive bowl appearances ( going 2 – 4 ) . In 2010 , the Badgers won a share of the Big Ten Championship and returned to the Rose Bowl for the first time since 2000 . There they were defeated 21 – 19 by the # 3 ranked TCU . In 2011 , the Badgers were once again crowned Big Ten Champs when they defeated Michigan State in the first - ever conference championship game . The victory sent Wisconsin back to the Rose Bowl for a second consecutive year , where they were defeated by the Pac - 12 champion Oregon Ducks , 38 – 45 . The 2012 season ended with the Badgers winning a third consecutive Big Ten title . Despite finishing with a 7 - 5 record and third in the Leaders Division , the Badgers advanced to the Big Ten Championship game by virtue of the fact that Penn State and Ohio State were ineligible for postseason play . A dominating rushing performance led Wisconsin to a 70 - 31 victory over # 12 ranked Nebraska in the Big Ten Championship game . Only days later , Brett Bielema resigned to become the head coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks . Gary Andersen , formerly coach of Utah State University , was named head coach on December 19 , 2012 . Barry Alvarez named himself interim coach for the 2013 Rose Bowl , where the Badgers lost , 20 - 14 to Stanford . All - time records . Victories over # 1 ranked teams . Source : Wisconsin State Journal , 10 / 16 / 2010 Bowl history . The Badgers have appeared in 24 bowl games and have a record of 11 wins and 13 losses ( 11 – 13 ) . Their most recent bowl game was in the 2013 Rose Bowl . All - time Big Ten records . This chart includes both the overall record the University of Wisconsin Badgers have with the all - time Big Ten members , as well as the matchups that counted in the Big Ten standings . Wisconsin has been a member of the Big Ten since its creation in 1896 . Michigan rejoined the league in 1917 after leaving in 1906 . Chicago withdrew after 1939 , and then Michigan State ( 1953 ) , Penn State ( 1993 ) , and Nebraska ( 2011 ) joined afterwards . Coaching history . Updated on : January 1 , 2013 Rivalries . Current rivalries . Minnesota . The UW - UM series is the nation ’ s most - played rivalry in Division I football and has been played continuously since 1907 . Much prestige was always associated with the game , and the significance was emphasized with its place on the schedule . Between 1933 and 1982 , the Wisconsin - Minnesota game was always the final regular - season contest for each school . The series took an added twist in 1948 when more than state bragging rights were on the line . After a 16 - 0 setback that season , the Wisconsin lettermen ' s group , the National ' W ' Club , presented Minnesota with an axe wielded by Paul Bunyan . He was the mythical giant of Midwestern lumber camps . Each year since , the winner of the annual battle between the Big Ten rivals is presented with the axe , complete with scores inscribed on the handle , for display on its campus . Iowa . The Iowa - Wisconsin rivalry , which dates back to 1894 , is Wisconsin ' s other arch rival . Although the series is over 100 years old the Heartland Trophy was inaugurated in 2004 and goes each year to the winner . The trophy was designed and crafted by artist and former Iowa football player Frank Strub . The trophy , which is a bull mounted on a walnut base ( native to both Wisconsin and Iowa ) , has been inscribed with the scores of all games in the long - time series . With Big Ten expansion , the Wisconsin and Iowa football teams were placed in separate divisions , thus ending their annual rivalry . The teams now play each other four out of every ten years . The all - time series between the two schools is tied at 42 - 42 - 2 . Inactive rivalries . Marquette . From 1904 to 1960 Wisconsin forged an intense rivalry with the Marquette Golden Avalanche . During this time these two schools were the only two Division I football in the state of Wisconsin ( Marquette being located in Milwaukee ) . These two schools played every year from 1932 to 1960 until Marquette terminated their football program . The Badgers won the series record 32 - 4 . Marquette no longer has a Division I football program . Honors . Retired numbers . " Shafer only played 6 games for the team before his death of injuries received in a game on November 11 , 1944 . He was 17 years old . " Individual award winners and finalists . The following players have been nominated for national awards . Players highlighted in yellow indicate winners : Future non - conference opponents . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > The 2015 game against Alabama will be part of the Cowboys Classic held at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington , Texas .