Wisconsin
Eleven University of Wisconsin Student-Athletes to Participate in Exact Sciences NIL Program
MADISON, Wis. – The University of Wisconsin Athletics and Learfield’s Badger Sports Properties, in collaboration with Exact Sciences, announce the return of the Exact Sciences Athletes program for the 2024-25 academic year. The program will offer name, image, and likeness (NIL) and educational opportunities to 11 Badger student-athletes.
The student-athletes will engage with the company on various initiatives, including career coaching, community events, social media outreach and more. Tailored to the student-athlete’s individual interests, each athlete can explore career paths and build their personal brand through a passion for health care and community giveback.
“We couldn’t be more pleased that the Exact Sciences Athletes program is returning for a second year,” said Mitchell Pinta, UW Deputy Athletic Director. “This is a truly innovative program that allows student-athletes to showcase their skills and make meaningful connections in the healthcare sector, reinforcing our commitment to preparing students for life after college athletics. It has already produced some fantastic outcomes for student-athletes, and we’re excited to see it continue to grow. Thank you to the team at Exact Sciences for partnering with our student-athletes in such a valuable initiative.”
Student-athletes participating in the program include:
- Austin Brown | Football | Major: Health Promotion and Health Equity | Hometown: Johnston City, Ill.
- Carter Gilmore| Men’s Basketball |Major: Consumer Behavior | Hometown: Hartland, Wis.
- Sophia Gruenling | Rowing | Major: Genetics and Genomics | Hometown: Marshfield, Wis.
- Elissa Perkins | Track & Field | Major: Nursing | Hometown: Bolingbrook, Ill.
- Ronnie Porter | Women’s Basketball | Major: Family Studies| Hometown: Saint Paul, Minn.
- Chloe Powell | Rowing | Major: Marketing | Hometown: Menlo Park, Calif.
- Liam Smith | Rowing | Major: Personal Finance | Hometown: Grand Rapids, Mich.
- Jason Swarens | Track and Field | Major: Mechanical Engineering | Hometown: Terre Haute, Indi.
- Bella Vasseur | Women’s Hockey | Major: Applied Mathematics, Engineering, and Physics | Hometown: Oregon, Wisc.
- Abby Wanezek | Swimming | Major: Kinesiology | Hometown: Elm Grove, Wisc.
- Jalen Williams | Track and Field | Major: Health Promotion and Health Equity| Hometown: Washington, D.C.
The Exact Sciences Athletes program has expanded from eight to 11 student-athletes following a successful inaugural year that saw 18.5 hours of volunteering, 20 hours of career exploration and one student-athlete landing a full-time position upon their graduation in May 2024.
Katie Boyce, Senior Director, Corporate Impact, Community Relations and Internal Communications said: “We’re really excited about our second year of the Exact Sciences Athletes program. It will continue to highlight our purpose to help eradicate cancer and focus on giving back to the community. We love working with the athletes to bring their passions together with our core values.”
Headquartered in Madison, Wis., Exact Sciences is a leading global provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests. The company aims to help eradicate cancer by preventing it, detecting it earlier, and guiding personalized treatment.
“This partnership is a perfect example of how collaboration can lead to innovative opportunities,” said Scott Silvestri, Vice President and General Manager of Badger Sports Properties. “We’re thrilled to support Exact Sciences in the second year of this venture, to connect student-athletes to professional networking and career-related experiences tailored to their interests and post-graduate goals.”
Badger Sports Properties, the locally based team of Learfield – the media and technology company powering college sports – is the exclusive multimedia rights holder for UW Athletics and oversees all sponsorship agreements on behalf of the Badgers. Badger Sports Properties does not represent the student-athletes themselves but collaborates with corporate partners to maximize sponsorship agreements with the inclusion of NIL programs and the integration of university marks and logos within those programs.
About Exact Sciences
Exact Sciences is a leading provider of cancer screening and diagnostic tests, with more than 6,500 employees worldwide. Headquartered in Madison, WI, Exact Sciences gives patients and health care professionals the clarity needed to take life-changing action earlier. For more information, visit ExactSciences.com, follow Exact Sciences on X(formerly known as Twitter) @ExactSciences, or find Exact Sciences on LinkedIn and Facebook.
About Learfield
Learfield is the leading media and technology company powering college athletics. Through its digital and physical platforms, Learfield owns and leverages a deep data set and relationships in the industry to drive revenue, growth, brand awareness, and fan engagement for brands, sports, and entertainment properties. With ties to over 1,200 collegiate institutions and over 12,000 local and national brand partners, Learfield’s presence in college sports and live events delivers influence and maximizes reach to target audiences. With solutions for a 365-day, 24/7 fan experience, Learfield enables schools and brands to connect with fans through licensed merchandise, game ticketing, donor identification for athletic programs, exclusive custom content, innovative marketing initiatives, NIL solutions, and advanced digital platforms. Since 2008, it has served as title sponsor for the acclaimed Learfield Directors’ Cup, supporting athletic departments across all divisions.
What was different for Wisconsin in second half vs Minnesota
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard explained what was different for the Badgers in the second half of their comeback win over border-state rival Minnesota.
MADISON – Minnesota’s Niko Medved called it.
“We know [John] Blackwell and [Nick] Boyd – they’re going to really force the action here in the second half,” Medved recalled telling his team at halftime.
Blackwell and Boyd did exactly that as Wisconsin’s talented backcourt duo helped the Badgers overcome an 18-point halftime deficit en route to an improbable 67-63 win over Minnesota on Jan. 28 at the Kohl Center.
It was tied for the largest second-half comeback in program history, matching wins against Indiana in 2021, Ohio State in 1976 and Marquette in 1948.
The Badgers outscored Minnesota in the second half, 50-28, en route to the historic comeback. Blackwell and Boyd combined to score 37 of those 50 second-half points, including 15 of Wisconsin’s last 18 points of the game.
Box score | UW schedule
“We couldn’t put our heads down,” Blackwell said, “or we were going to lose that game. … Coach just challenged our leaders to be better. I think we did that in the second half. I think guys stepped up like BC [Braeden Carrington] and Jack [Janicki], and then we strung a great second half together.”
John Blackwell comes up big again in final minute
The double-digit comeback win – Wisconsin’s third in the month of January and second this season against Minnesota – was anything but a sure thing in the final stretch of a game that had a total of eight lead changes and three ties.
With 90 seconds remaining, Minnesota had a one-point lead and possession. Then Janicki came up with a crucial steal, and Blackwell gave the Badgers everything they could ask for from their star player in the last minute.
He drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws with one minute remaining to take the lead, came up with the rebound after Janicki got his fingertips on a potential go-ahead 3-pointer and hit a 3-pointer on the other end to give the Badgers a two-possession lead with 19 seconds remaining.
It’s nothing new for Blackwell, who had 27 points and a game-winning buzzer-beater against Minnesota 15 days earlier. The standout guard finished with a team-high 23 points and seven rebounds, marking his seventh consecutive game with a double-digit point total.
Blackwell and Boyd, Medved said, are “relentlessly aggressive.”
“You got to be able to take them on, and you got to be able to take them on without fouling,” Medved said. “We weren’t able to do that.”
Wisconsin’s improved shooting stood out, but comeback was due to much more than that
Wisconsin’s improved shooting was an obvious factor in the Badgers’ big comeback. After all, Wisconsin hit 70% of its shots in the second half after hitting only 17.9% of its shots in the first half.
But for as much as those numbers stand out, Wisconsin’s ability to do everything else – from defense to drawing contact – was a difference-maker as well in the comeback.
Wisconsin made more free throws in the second half (13) than it even attempted in the first half (four). Blackwell alone drew four fouls in the second half, and Boyd drew another four after halftime. That helped put the Badgers in the bonus for most of the second half.
“We initiated things better,” Gard said. “We were on attack mode better. We got to the free-throw line. … We were just tougher in all aspects of the game.”
Perhaps even more importantly, the Badgers showed improvement on the defensive end in the second half.
Yes, Minnesota technically shot a higher percentage in the second half (50%) than in the first (43%). But the Gophers turned the ball over on 29.6% of possessions in the second half rather than 9.7% in the first half and averaged fewer points per possession after intermission.
“Defensively, I thought we had more bite to us than what we did in the first half,” Gard said.
Wisconsin also made some defensive plays at critical moments that had an impact bigger than a glance at the box score might suggest. Janicki’s steal while UW trailed by one point is near the top of that list, as is the redshirt sophomore’s block with 45 seconds remaining.
“It was good for us to respond specifically from the defensive end,” Gard said. “Shots are going to come and go. They’ll fall eventually. But that other end is what got us back on track.”
That improved physicality was against a short-handed Minnesota team that was without leading scorer Cade Tyson, among others. The Gophers used only seven players, and three of their starters were on the floor for at least 38 minutes.
“Could you say that that’s a factor? Yeah,” Medved said. “But that’s not – everyone’s tired. I think we lose our focus sometimes in the second half. … If we’re going to say we’re tired, we’re just making excuses.”
Wisconsin’s rough first half starts with lack of shooting success, but also lack of physicality
Wisconsin’s rough first half was a continuation of the shooting woes that saddled the Badgers in the 73-71 loss to USC three days earlier.
After shooting 34.3% from the field and 24.3% from 3-point range against the Trojans, Wisconsin made only 17.9% of shots from the field and 25% from 3-point range in the first half against Minnesota.
It’s been quite the harbinger of the Badgers’ 2025-26 success, as they went into the Jan. 28 rivalry game with a 12-0 record when shooting at least 45% from the field versus a 2-6 record when falling short of that mark.
Of all the issues that Wisconsin experienced in the first half, though, the quality of shot attempts might be the last thing that comes to mind for Gard.
“It was how hard we were playing, how physical we were,” Gard said. “And then when you don’t play hard and you don’t play physical, you end up getting crappy looks. It’s amazing how that works when the ball doesn’t go in. You play hard, you play physical – man, it makes the ball go in. It’s magic.”
Wisconsin
Man in Wisconsin arrested after traffic stop leads officers to find marijuana in his underwear
Deceased man may have slashed neck on window trying to break into DC home
Wisconsin woman airlifted with life-threatening injuries in crash with semi
West Virginia justices pause lower court ruling on how charter schools are authorized – WV MetroNews
Wyoming public land housing project spurs debate over land use
Six Senators Accuse Deputy Attorney General of “Glaring” Crypto Conflict, Cite ProPublica Investigation
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Map: 4.2-Magnitude Earthquake Shakes Montana
Virginia Democrats seek dozens of new tax hikes, including on dog walking and dry cleaning
Putin should make concessions before direct talks with Europe: Kallas
Medicare Advantage insurers face new curbs on overcharges in Trump plan
Trump admin finds California ban on notifying parents of gender transitions violated federal law
-
Illinois1 week agoIllinois school closings tomorrow: How to check if your school is closed due to extreme cold
-
Pennsylvania3 days agoRare ‘avalanche’ blocks Pennsylvania road during major snowstorm
-
Sports1 week agoMiami star throws punch at Indiana player after national championship loss
-
Science1 week agoContributor: New food pyramid is a recipe for health disasters
-
Technology1 week agoRing claims it’s not giving ICE access to its cameras
-
Science1 week agoFed up with perimenopause or menopause? The We Do Not Care Club is here for you
-
Movie Reviews1 week ago
Movie Review: In ‘Mercy,’ Chris Pratt is on trial with an artificial intelligence judge
-
Politics4 days agoTrump’s playbook falters in crisis response to Minneapolis shooting
