• The Wisconsin state Senate narrowly passed a bill to provide taxpayer funding for university athletic facilities.
• The legislation allocates more than $14 million to UW-Madison and formalizes rules for athlete compensation.
• It includes a controversial public records exemption for athletic department revenue information.
• The bill now awaits a decision from Gov. Tony Evers, who has not yet taken a public stance.

MADISON – The Wisconsin Badgers are one step closer to receiving taxpayer support as they adapt to the changing college sports landscape.

With a one-vote margin, the state Senate on March 17 approved a bill to provide taxpayer funding for athletic facility debt service and formalize rules around name, image and likeness. Eleven Republicans and six Democrats voted in favor of the bill, while seven Republicans and nine Democrats voted against it.

The bill, which the Assembly passed on Feb. 19 with a 95-1 vote, now goes to Gov. Tony Evers’ desk. The governor has not publicly weighed in on the measure.

Neither the Senate nor Assembly debated the bill before their votes.

The legislation would allocate $14.6 million for debt service and maintenance of athletic facilities at UW-Madison – the one power-conference athletic department in the University of Wisconsin System. Another $200,000 each would go to UW-Milwaukee and UW-Green Bay for its athletic facilities.

It also would codify existing rules around athletes’ ability to profit off their name, image and likeness. Athletes also would not be allowed to sign NIL deals that conflict with the university’s existing contracts, involve the athlete’s performance or endorse tobacco, alcohol, gambling, banned or illegal substances or illegal activity.

The legislation also adds a public records exemption that has come under scrutiny from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, among others. It would exempt “generation, deployment or allocation of revenue” by an athletic department “when competitive reasons require confidentiality.” UW officials have said they are only seeking to “codify our existing practice” of denying certain records due to student privacy law or competitive trade secrets.

The historic blizzard that moved through the state on Sunday and Monday brought snowmobiling enthusiasts in northern Wisconsin a gift — one last ride of the season on powdery trails. 

They’re now in a race to get out onto the trails before temperatures start to rise. 

Oneida, Vilas, Eau Claire, Shawano, Ashland, Bayfield and other northern Wisconsin counties recently opened their snowmobile trails, according to the state’s snow report. The sport requires at least 6 to 8 inches of base snow to carry the vehicle. That means a warm spell can require the trails to close quickly.

“With 50-degree temperatures coming up, we are at least giving a lot of the locals in Oneida County a chance to snowmobile today and tomorrow,” said Bob Ausloos, president of the St. Germain Bo-Boen Snowmobile Club. 

The area is known for its trails. Vilas County is known as the “snowmobiling capital of the world.” Ausloos said some Wisconsinites are already taking advantage of the “phenomenal” trail conditions, considering they won’t last forever.  

“I have (my snowmobiles) put away because spring was here and I didn’t feel like bringing them up for another day or two,” he said. “But there has been a fair amount of traffic going through town.”

Oneida County partially reopened some of its trails Tuesday morning, just 10 days after they temporarily closed from the last spell of above-freezing temperatures.

Some snow reports warn riders to watch for fallen trees and branches left over from the blizzard conditions that dropped feet of snow in the northern and central parts of the state. 

Scott Hetland is the president of the Oneida County Snowmobile council, made up of nine clubs in the area. He said late-season riding in March is a bonus for avid snowmobilers.

“Not all riders are going to want to go out and ride at this point,” Hetland said. “But for the folks who want to get out and ride — hey, let’s do it.”

The trails are in “rough late-season condition,” county officials said. This means even though the blizzard brought some powdery snow, rising temperatures can cause trail conditions to change quickly. 

“Conditions may not be perfect with the lake crossings and some of the low-lying areas, but by all means, trails are passable, in good shape,” Hetland said. “Just gotta stay safe out there for these last few weeks.”

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