MADISON (Wis.) -- Wisconsin has named Camp Randall Stadium's playing field after Barry Alvarez, a former Badgers athletic director and football coach.
At a Friday night celebration honoring Alvarez, Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced that the decision was made. Alvarez retired this summer as Wisconsin's athletic director. Blank stated that the playing field would be called "Barry Alvarez Field, Camp Randall Stadium".
Alvarez was Wisconsin's coach from 1990 to 2005. He set a program record in career coaching wins, winning three Rose Bowl titles at an institution that had been 9-36 for the previous four years. Alvarez's career record of 119-74-4 includes a 1-1 mark in interim coaching bowl games, which capped the 2012/2014 seasons.
Alvarez was inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame (2010
Blank stated that Barry Alvarez had an "immeasurable impact" on UW-Madison's campus and beyond, in the state as well as in college sports. That type of career deserves recognition at every level.
Blank stated that a fundraising campaign was launched in support of this project and raised over $13million.
Next season, the field's name will be in effect. Officials at the school plan to place the words "Barry Alvarez Field” in the southwest and northwest corners of the field, when the Camp Randall Stadium turf will be replaced before the 2022 season.
Alvarez stated, "That was quite a surprise." "I'm touched. "I'm honored."
Alvarez was still coaching the Badgers when he became Wisconsin's athletic director. During his tenure as athletic director, Wisconsin won 16 national titles in six sports: women's lightweight rowing and men's cross-country, men’s hockey, women’s hockey, men’s indoor track, and men's rowing. The NCAA doesn't sanction women's lightweight rowing as a championship sport.
