After More Than A Year Away, Fans Are Returning To UW-Madison Athletic Facilities

The University of Wisconsin-Madison hasn’t welcomed fans to its athletic facilities for 17 months. That’s set to change Saturday.

The Badgers are hosting an open football practice at Camp Randall Stadium, featuring appearances by Athletic Director Chris McIntosh and the marching band. The volleyball team’s annual Red-and-White Scrimmage at UW Field House will follow. Both events are free, but tickets are required, according to a news release from UW Athletics.

The football team is set to open its season against Penn State on Sept. 4. For now, the Badgers are about halfway through training camp. On Monday, head coach Paul Chryst told reporters it’s a great time of year.

“You’re not worried about an opponent quite yet,” he said. “You’re just focusing on how individually each player can get better and how we collectively can get better. I think that’s one of the reasons I love camp.”

Meanwhile, the volleyball team opens its season next week against Texas Christian University. The Badgers are ranked No. 2 in the preseason coaches poll, which was released Monday. Texas is ranked No. 1.

The football and volleyball teams each played abbreviated seasons last year that included interruptions due to COVID-19 outbreaks.

Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the volleyball team managed to win 18 straight matches and reach the national semifinal. The team will drop its 2020 Big Ten champions banner Saturday. The football team won the 2020 Duke’s Mayo Bowl.

The return of fans coincides with rising COVID-19 case counts in Wisconsin, where the seven-day average for new cases is hovering around 1,200 as of Monday afternoon. But Dane County boasts the state’s highest vaccination rate — with 80 percent of people age 18 and older fully vaccinated.

Eighty-five percent of Wisconsin’s football team is vaccinated, Chryst said.

UW-Madison’s mask order says everyone, regardless of vaccination status, must wear a mask when in indoor public spaces. That means masks are required inside UW Field House, and all concession transactions will be cashless. Masks are not required but are strongly encouraged in outdoor public spaces at Camp Randall.