The University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Athletic Hall of Fame will have a new, permanent home outside of the Kohl Center, according to a UW Athletics press release. Construction is set to begin early spring and be completed in time for the 2026 Hall class next September.
The exhibit was previously located outside the Camp Randall Sports Center, known as “The Shell,” which was torn down in Fall 2024 in order to construct the $285 million Kellner Family Athletic Center.
“The most important thing is [that] it’s going to be more visible,” Douglas McLeod, UW Athletic Board Chair, told The Daily Cardinal. “There is going to be 50 times more foot traffic going up that walkway.”
Jason King, UW-Madison’s senior associate athletic director for capital projects and operations, told the Cap Times the athletic department was running out of space to add plaques at the old location, so the display would have to be moved soon, regardless of the demolition of the practice facility.
The commemorative bricks purchased by Badger fans, many to honor Wisconsin alumni and deceased loved ones, will also be relocated after fans raised concerns over the fate of their brick. The university gave individuals the option to take their bricks home, if desired. Otherwise, they will be moved to a different, currently undecided location inside Camp Randall.
The UW-Madison Athletic Hall of Fame was established in 1991, inducting its first 35 members that spring, and has since grown to over 300 members. The Hall is sponsored and organized by the W Club — UW-Madison’s athletic alumni association.
Chris Solinsky, the W Club’s executive director, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that the new Hall of Fame display will have the capacity to display over two decades worth of new inductees. The new site will be on the east side of the Kohl Center, which UW officials say will expose the Hall of Fame to over 750,000 visitors each year.
“I think for people who earned a space on that wall, they’ve earned it. It should be seen by people,” McLeod said.
The previous display held all the honorees’ plaques on a single exterior wall of The Shell, while renderings for the new display use a series of short walls to showcase those same plaques.
The 2025 Athletics Hall of Fame class included basketball forward Frank Kaminsky, hockey defender Molly Engstrom and runningback James White.
