The University of Wisconsin-Madison Police Department (UWPD) arrested nine and ejected 14 UW-Madison students during Saturday’s game against Western Illinois, far lower numbers than previous years.
Marc Lovicott, UWPD’s Executive Director of Communications, told The Daily Cardinal the game had “no issues” and “all went according to plan and our expectations.”
UWPD’s second game records had 25 student arrests and 33 student ejections in 2025. In 2024, they reported 18 student arrests, 37 student ejections and 38 first aid calls during the first home game. Lovicott told the Cardinal at the time, even the 2024 numbers were lower than previous years’ first home games.
This could be due to attendance. UW-Madison sold 47,587 season tickets for the 2026 football season as of mid-August, representing a 13.1% drop from the 54,780 sold in 2025. General seating made up 31,190 of tickets this year, an 18.1% drop from 2025’s 38,084.
UW-Madison students made up 12 of 13 total citations during the Western Illinois game, with nine citations issued for underage alcohol use, two for false identification and two for “throwing hard objects,” according to UWPD.
The game also saw 16 paramedic calls, 12 first aid calls and UWPD reported one person had a blood alcohol level of .20 or higher.
In the second home game of 2025, there were 20 first aid calls and seven paramedic calls, with four individuals registering blood alcohol levels of .20 or higher.
During the Sept. 6 Wisconsin-Notre Dame game at Lambeau Field, the Green Bay Police Department arrested one individual and ejected 10.
