The UW football teams of 1998 and 1999 set a high standard on the field that has not been matched in the four years since. Although highlighted by its back-to-back Rose Bowls, which thrust the Badgers onto the national football scene (and led to unprecedented increases in undergraduate applications), UW also succeeded in keeping its off-field transgressions to a minimum.
Sadly, the current team has failed in both areas, although it is its continued failure in the latter area that deserves the most concern.
The team's latest incident-involving fourth-year student and wide receiver Byron Brown punching a bouncer in the face \six to 10 times"" early last Friday-unofficially brings this year's tally of football arrests to six.
If Head Coach Barry Alvarez and his staff continue to fail in controlling the disruptive, disrespectful and, at times, dangerous actions of his players, those who are higher up, i.e.: Chancellor John Wiley, must step in and take definite action. Letting things blow over can no longer be an option.
The repeated instances of law-breaking are even more troubling considering that Alvarez has been tabbed as the next Athletic Director. If the man cannot control his own team (or accept any accountability), how can he possibly control the actions of every student athlete on campus?
Furthermore, while it is important for students to recognize and appreciate the extra responsibilities that football players deal with everyday, it is unfair for students and the entire UW-Madison community to have to endure the national black eye that comes from being associated with the violent off-field actions of its football team.
Simply put, things need to change.
