If you have ever watched a men's basketball game on TV you have undoubtedly seen the camera pan the student section a number of times to find a particular blonde wearing her red sweater, sitting among the band. If you have been to a lot of games at the Kohl Center you have probably seen this same blonde dressed to kill and singing the national anthem. Meet Alexis Schrubbe. And fellas, I hate to break it to you, but she is unavailable.
Another person that takes up most of the camera time and is on the court for a majority of any Badger game is that guy wearing No. 54. Ladies, don't even try because that is Schrubbe's fianc??-starting senior forward Mike Wilkinson.
The romance story of the pretty blonde in the band and the Badgers' best big man started about two years ago through a mutual friend named Chris. Schrubbe, now a senior, played in the marching band with Chris while he was also conveniently Wilkinson's roommate. She commented that during the summer, she would crash at their place because her house was not open yet. Their relationship started out as just acquaintances who would see each other whenever Wilkinson happened to walk past her to get to the kitchen, but soon it would be much more than that.
\I don't even know how it started,"" Schrubbe said. ""We just started talking to each other one night and then it just kind of escalated until the sexual tension was so thick.""
Now, instead of sharing a mutual friend, both plan on sharing the rest of their lives together. During Christmas of Schrubbe's junior year, Wilkinson popped the question after less than a year of dating. While this situation was supposed to be set up perfectly, Schrubbe was not too happy with Wilkinson's timing.
""It was Christmastime and my whole extended family on my mom's side was there and I told him not to do it in front of my family,"" Schrubbe said. ""And then he got down on one knee and asked me to marry him in front of everyone, and that was the first time that they had met him.""
Though this situation sounds nearly picture-perfect, this is just the ""nice"" version. Apparently there's more, but do not expect to read it here.
""Except that's not the truth,"" Schrubbe said regarding the engagement story she just told. ""But you're not going to know the truth because this is going in the paper.""
No matter the real story of their engagement, the couple plan to wed May 28 in Madison. Both are natives of Wisconsin-Schrubbe from Waukesha, Wilkinson from Blue Mound-and chose the Madison locale as a half way point for both families and because it is the city they love. While the wedding party includes family members, friends and Schrubbe's sorority sisters, none of Wilkinson's Badger teammates will be among the groomsmen.
When this couple first got engaged, not everyone was happy for them. Schrubbe commented that her fellow band members used to give her a hard time and accuse her of just being a ""jersey chaser."" Surprisingly, this is the real reason Schrubbe turns her back when Wilkinson is shooting free throws. It is not because she does not want to see her future husband miss a free throw as many sportscasters suggest when show her on TV during Wilkinson's free throws, but it is about her own insecurities. Here is the truth in her own words.
""My friend Ryan, who has now graduated and moved on, was the craziest basketball fan in the whole entire world and whenever [Mike] would shoot a free throw, I would turn around and make contact with Ryan ... and we would then talk during the free throws instead of me watching.
""So then when he would miss they would be like 'So you didn't do your job in the locker room, did you?' I don't have really thick skin. To turn around and talk to Ryan and kind of ignore what people are saying around me, that's kind of where it came from. Ever since then it has kind of been a thing. So it's not what people think,"" she said.
And now people are recognizing the couple more and more. She has had random people from other schools ask to be her friend on the TheFacebook.com, bouncers at bars recognize her before they check her ID and she's even gotten airtime on ESPN's Sports Center. One place Schrubbe did not expect to be noticed, though, was at the doctor's office.
""At UHS, the doctor began, like, sweating because he was nervous,"" Schrubbe said. ""I was having problems with my head and drainage and stuff and he said 'Well we gotta get you better for the big game.' It was for the Illinois game, so that was pretty cute.""
Does this new fame annoy her fianc??; the Badgers' second leading scorer and leading rebounder?
""More people know her than they know me now,"" Wilkinson said. ""I just keep telling her that she's the star. It doesn't bother me at all.""
While the Badgers are still in the thick of the Big Ten schedule and have post-season aspirations, there are many post-college plans to be made for the couple. If things go well for the remainder of the season, Wilkinson could be an NBA draft prospect. If he does not land in the NBA, the couple has also thought about moving to Europe to continue Wilkinson's basketball career. As for Schrubbe, a political science, Eastern European and Russian studies major, she plans to go on to law school to study contract law. She hopes to someday be a sports agent for athletes overseas looking to start a career in America.
If all else fails, there is always the farm. Wilkinson grew up on a farm and has aspirations to someday own his own. Schrubbe is hoping that something else will come up first.
""Before we get to the farm, first of all you have to make money,"" Schrubbe said. ""So if he breaks his leg or something like that, or can't play basketball or suddenly hates it, we're not going to move onto the farm. You have to start out just like everybody starts out, and that's more of a long-term goal. He knows if he moves me out in the middle of nowhere, I'm not going to be happy.""
Another question that sits in the air for any newlyweds is when is it time for kids? Don't expect any mini Badgers running around anytime soon; kids are going to have to wait for at least ten years, according to Wilkinson.
""He's going to have them,"" Schrubbe said quite seriously. ""You know, his hips are bigger and he's got a higher pain tolerance and he grew up on a farm ... So whenever he wants to have kids, that is his responsibility. The thought of having children really frightens me right now.""
For now though, the Badger couple will put all their energy into going as far as they can down the road of the NCAA Tournament and then on their 'I do's' at the altar. So is this the way Schrubbe always envisioned it?
""If I would have gone back and told myself, 'Not only are you going to get married to an athlete,' because I was a total band nerd, 'You're going to do it when you're really young AND you're going to put his career before yours for a little while,' I would have kicked myself in the shin.\
