Why is Wisconsin playing Alabama at Camp Randall Stadium? Badgers and Tide kick off home-and-home
Wisconsin football entered the 2024 college football season looking to take a step under Luke Fickell, especially with the College Football Playoff field expanding to 12 teams
So far the Badgers, are doing just that. But now the Badgers find themselves with their biggest test yet not only of the season, but also the Fickell era: No. 4 Alabama.
It's also one of the biggest non-conference games to be played inside Camp Randall Stadium, as the Badgers have never hosted a Power Four team that was ranked in the top 5 of the US LBM Coaches Poll and AP Top 25 poll in the CFP era.
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And so, in the lead-up to Saturday's kickoff between Wisconsin and Alabama, curiosity has risen across college football on why is a program like Alabama traveling to play a true non-conference road game against Wisconsin, considering Alabama hasn't traveled to Big Ten country in the regular season since 2011?
Here's more on why Wisconsin is hosting Alabama at Camp Randall and more:
Wisconsin vs Alabama location
Stadium: Camp Randall Stadium
Location: Madison, Wisconsin
Wisconsin-Alabama will take place at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin in Week 3 of the college football season. Camp Randall, which is seated just off the shores of Lake Mendota, has a capacity of 76,057 per its website. Built in 1917, Camp Randall is the seventh oldest college football stadium in the country per a USA TODAY Sports' UGAWire article in 2020.
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Why is Wisconsin playing Alabama football at home in Madison?
Saturday's Week 3 non-conference game between Alabama and Wisconsin is the start of a home-and-home series that was agreed upon by both programs in 2019.
The home-and-home series begins this year in Madison with the return game next season in Tuscaloosa at Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
"We're happy to have added another quality non-conference opponent for a home-and-home series in Wisconsin," Alabama director of athletics Greg Byrne said in a 2019 statement. "Traveling to Camp Randall, one of the nation's oldest stadiums, will make for a great road contest early in the 2024 season. Having them return the trip in 2025 to Bryant-Denny Stadium will also certainly provide a boost to our home slate, and we look forward to the opportunity."
When the series was announced, both programs were in a different era than they are now. Paul Chryst was still the man working the sidelines for Wisconsin while Nick Saban was still at Alabama — quite the inside look at the quick ever-changing landscape of college athletics in 2024.
"Players come here to play in big games against the best teams — it's a way to measure themselves," then-Badgers athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a 2019 story on Wisconsin's website. "A match-up like this excites your team. It picks up the tempo during your offseason. Just like when we opened the season with LSU and Alabama a few years ago."
It also goes without mention — especially in a time of college athletics like now — Saturday's contest between Wisconsin and Alabama is a bit of a rarity in today's college football. The reason for this is conference realignment has started to take away home-and-home series and neutral site games between Power 4 opponents.
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Is Wisconsin getting paid to play Alabama?
No. According to the contract for the game obtained by the USA TODAY Network, as part of the home-and-home agreement between the Badgers and Crimson Tide, Wisconsin will pay Alabama $500,000.
In addition, when Wisconsin travels down to Tuscaloosa, Alabama next year the Crimson Tide will pay the Badgers $500,000. The contract, which was signed in 2019, also states that the visiting team should receive 400 complimentary tickets and have the option of purchasing up to 3,600 additional tickets at a single game ticket price.
Wisconsin-Alabama series history
Series record: Tied 1-1
The Badgers and Crimson Tide last met in a neutral site game during Week 1 of the 2015 college football season down in Arlington, Texas at AT&T Stadium. In what turned out to be a lopsided game — a 35-17 win for then-No. 3 Alabama — eventual 2015 Heisman Trophy winner Derrick Henry ran for three touchdowns on 13 carries and 148 rushing yards. Wisconsin quarterback Joel Stave finished 26 of 39 passing for 228 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the loss.
Here's a breakdown of how past Wisconsin-Alabama games resulted:
1928: Wisconsin won 15-0
2015 (Neutral site game): Alabama won 35-17
2024: TBD
Note: Wisconsin's game vs. Alabama in 1928 is not counted as a Big Ten vs. SEC game as the Crimson Tide were part of the Southern Conference then. The SEC was formed in 1933.
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When did Wisconsin last play an SEC team in the regular season?
The last time that Wisconsin played an SEC team in the regular season came in Week 1 of the 2016 college football season up in Green Bay at Lambeau Field against No. 5 LSU.
Perhaps with the luck of the Packers' Lombardi Trophies in near sight, Wisconsin came out with a narrow 16-14 victory over the LSU Tigers. Badgers kicker Rafael Gaglianone hit what would be the go-ahead 47-yard field goal with 3:47 remaining in the fourth quarter as Wisconsin's defense came up with an interception to seal the win.
Here's a look at past Wisconsin regular season games vs. SEC opponents, including neutral site games, dating back to the Badgers' first season in 1889.
Score in parentheses
1971: Lost to No. 18 LSU (38-28)
1972: Lost to No. 9 LSU (27-7)
2014: Lost to No. 13 LSU *
2015: Lost to No. 3 Alabama (37-17)*
2016: Beat No. 5 LSU (16-14)*
* denotes neutral site game
Note: This list does not include games against the two newest SEC programs (Oklahoma and Texas). Wisconsin's game vs. Alabama in 1928 is not included in this list as the SEC was not formed until 1933.
Wisconsin football record vs. SEC
Overall record: 4-12
Bowl game record: 3-8
Wisconsin has an overall record of 4-12 against SEC programs (when that program is listed as a member of the SEC). The Badgers are 3-8 against SEC programs in bowl games.
Here's a full list of Wisconsin's results vs. SEC programs all-time per MCubed:
1971: Lost to No. 18 LSU
1972: Lost to No. 9 LSU
1981: Lost to Tennessee in the 1981 Garden State Bowl
1984: Lost to Kentucky in the 1984 Hall of Fame Classic Bowl
1997: Lost to No. 12 Georgia in the 1998 Outback Bowl
2003: Lost to Auburn in the 2003 Music City Bowl
2004: Lost to No. 8 Georgia in the 2005 Outback Bowl
2005: Beat No. 6 Auburn in the 2006 Capital One Bowl
2006: Beat No. 12 Arkansas in 2007 Capital One Bowl
2007: Lost to No. 16 Tennessee in the 2008 Outback Bowl
2013: Lost to No. 18 South Carolina in the 2014 Capital One Bowl
2014: Lost to No. 13 LSU *
2014: Beat No. 19 Auburn in the 2015 Outback Bowl
2015: Lost to No. 3 Alabama *
2016: Beat No. 5 LSU *
2023: Lost to No. 13 LSU in 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl
* denotes neutral site regular season game
Note: This list only included Wisconsin games vs. SEC opponents when those programs were members of the SEC. It does not include games against the two newest SEC programs (Oklahoma and Texas).
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Why is Wisconsin football playing Alabama at Camp Randall Stadium?
