International students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison founded the university’s first cricket team, the Badger Cricket Club, in 2024. Since then, they jumped onto the scene dominating the field, winning a national title in their first year and adding to the growing popularity of cricket in the United States.
The players, almost all international students, hail from cricket-playing countries and have experience playing at a high level before arriving at UW-Madison. In 2024, they decided to form an official cricket team with funding from UW-Madison Recreation & Wellbeing as a way to compete against other schools and build a strong club and alumni network.
In their inaugural season, the BCC won the national championship of the National Club Cricket Association (NCCA), clearing their league matches and playoffs to win it all. UW-Madison cricket was officially on the map.
By beating West Virginia, UCLA and Rutgers in the first-ever NCCA tournament, they sought to continue their success into the qualifiers.
After handing ASU a crushing quarter-final defeat by 48 runs, the BCC rose through the tournament as a force to be reckoned with.
Playing UC-Berkeley in the Semifinals provided a more challenging task, but the BCC won the tightly contested match, winning within the last 12 balls of the game and by eight wickets — meaning eight batters still remaining — 88/2 to 87/5.
In the finals, the BCC was tasked with playing their toughest opponent yet: the University of Maryland. Defending this red-hot Cricket team against a mere score of 87 runs was proving to be difficult beyond comparison. In the end, a bowling masterclass late in the remaining two overs of the game gave them the win by just two runs, 86/7 to 84/9.
“If you see the clip of the final, you can see what it [the championship] meant to the team.” BCC President Ayush Mehta said. “I was sucked into the drama and emotions of winning a big tournament as well.”
The sport is growing rapidly in the United States and so is interest for it among teams representing their universities at the collegiate level. In 2009, American College Cricket (ACC) began with its inaugural national championship, featuring five newly formed teams, and more followed suit.
Cricket teams have become increasingly common at American universities, from Ivy League schools to large state institutions. “Cricket is a growing sport and poses a great opportunity for the sport to tap into the vast resources the US has to offer,” Mehta said.
The BCC recently took to a friendly competition against the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities’ Cricket team in a three-game series in March of this year. Winning all three matches, the BCC left a statement and proof that almost a year later, this team has only gotten better.
The growing popularity and competition was also seen vividly in the NCCA's 2025 college cricket tournament, where the BCC fell short of defending their national title. The BCC faced impressive and improved talent from other universities, struggling to make it out of the league stages and succumbing to persistent attacking lineups on both bowling and batting ends.
Building a future in Madison
Cricket finds its most passionate fans and players in the Asia-Pacific region, where countries like India lead the crowd with major tournaments and leagues. Beyond India, cricket has sporting success across Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania. The United States has struggled to fully join the club, but the country has made a recent push in the sport. Last year, the U.S. joined the T-20 World Cup and cricket participation in the U.S. has increased by 40% since 2018, with over 200,000 active players now involved in local leagues and academies.
“The country is seeing a surge in demand for the sport from people in the United States,” Mehta said.
While the University of Wisconsin-Madison has established itself as a premier athletic powerhouse for decades — with 15 different NCAA Division I programs and a long list of several national championships — the NCAA does not recognize cricket as a varsity sport, meaning the BCC is the highest level of cricket competition available to UW-Madison students.
In Madison, football, basketball and hockey will remain iconic university mainstays. But, as cricket continues to grow its presence on campus, it may someday find itself among the university’s most popular sports, especially if the cricketers maintain their rigorous mentality and championship-winning prowess.
“The future of any club is decided by its members,” Mehta said. “I strongly believe we will have a great involvement from UW-Madison students for the sport.”
As cricket continues to grow in the U.S. and the BCC strives to retain their championship pedigree, they will ensure that UW-Madison is a premier player in this developing game. The time to recognize the highs and lows of Wisconsin’s cricket club, just like any other UW-Madison sport, has arrived, and the BCC is up for the challenges that await them.
