Wisconsin
Where does Wisconsin vs. Iowa rank among the biggest rivalries in college football?
When it comes to the culture and tradition of college football, rivalries are the bread and butter of the crop. For the Wisconsin Badgers, that includes matchups against the Iowa Hawkeyes, Minnesota Golden Gophers, and Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Each of the three is a trophy game and always epitomizes the Big Ten with grimy, hard-fought victories over the last century.
While the Nebraska rivalry is fairly recent, given when they entered the Big Ten, the other two have been longstanding rivalries with strong track records from both sides.
Wisconsin owns the overall record over Iowa 49-47-2, but they’ve been on a recent slide, losing the last three games, which included a 42-10 beatdown at Kinnick Stadium last year.
It’s clear that the Badgers take great pride in their rivalries, as the team ended every practice in the spring with 42 pushups to remember the disappointing loss.
“When have you ever heard of Iowa scoring 42 points, ever?” linebacker Darryl Peterson said this spring when pointing out which rivalry loss stung the most in 2024. “For me, obviously, all three of them [are big deals], but 42 points is unacceptable to anybody, but especially those guys.”
With the clear disdain for both sides, where does the Wisconsin-Iowa rivalry rank among the biggest in college football?
The Athletic recently ranked the Top 100 rivalries in college football, and the Wisconsin-Iowa battle came in at No. 22.
“In perhaps the most overlooked great rivalry, these Upper Midwest programs combined for seven division titles and nine 10-win seasons over the Big Ten West’s 10-year existence. They are built with the same tenets of physicality and power, which make for some of college football’s hardest-hitting games.”
Why were they ranked so high? Well, according to The Athletic, these three factors were big:
1. Iowa and Wisconsin are located 175 miles apart and have played 41 games in which at least one team was ranked. That includes nine times they faced off as ranked opponents, with Iowa holding a 5-4 advantage.
2. Big Ten expansion twice sidelined this rivalry (1993-94, 2011-12) but each time the league reconfigured its alignment to allow it to continue. The battle for the Heartland Trophy is one of 12 protected rivalries in the 18-team Big Ten.
3. Either an unranked or lower-ranked team has beaten a top-10 squad six times. One outside of that category was their 2004 season-ending clash. With a share of the Big Ten title at stake, No. 9 Iowa blasted No. 17 Wisconsin 30-7.
What was the biggest game in rivalry history?
“In 2010, top-15 teams collided in Iowa City with 30 draft picks (15 on each side) and battled through eight lead changes. A fake punt, a twisting TD by Wisconsin’s Montee Ball and a blocked PAT from J.J. Watt led to a 31-30 Badgers win. The victory propelled Wisconsin to a share of the Big Ten title.”
At No. 22, the rivalry came just behind Washington-Oregon (No. 21) and Michigan-Michigan (No. 16) as a part of the Big Ten’s top battles.
Both Wisconsin-Iowa and Washington-Oregon were bumped up from their initial spots, thanks to how tight each rivalry has been, as well as the number of ranked matchups.
“Washington-Oregon and Iowa-Wisconsin each finished higher than initially expected. Washington-Oregon has featured 10 ranked matchups and 53 games with at least one team ranked, which was more than Oregon-Oregon State (6, 31) or Washington-Washington State (8, 34). Washington-Oregon also has a robust trajectory as protected Big Ten foes.
“Only two wins separate Wisconsin from Iowa (49-47-2), with nine ranked matchups between them, and they combined for seven of the 10 Big Ten West titles. Their proximity (175 miles) is similar to an in-state battle, and their series is protected by the Big Ten.”
Ultimately, Wisconsin-Iowa is one of the biggest rivalries in the sport, and the Badgers will look to snap their recent losing streak this season when hosting the Hawkeyes on October 11th at Camp Randall Stadium.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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