Camp Randall Stadium
Encyclopedia
Camp Randall Stadium is an outdoor stadium in Madison, Wisconsin
. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football
team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a complete stadium since 1917. It is located on the center-southern region of the University of Wisconsin
campus. The stadium seats 80,321. It is the oldest and fifth largest stadium in the Big Ten Conference
, and the 41st largest stadium in the world.
, a former Union Army training camp during the Civil War
. The camp was named after then Governor Alexander Randall
, who later became Postmaster General
of the United States
.
After an outcry from veterans over plans to turn the site into building lots, the state bought it in 1893 and presented it to the university. Soon afterward, it was pressed into service as an athletic ground. It was originally used by the track and field team before the football and baseball teams moved there in 1895. However, the wooden bleachers were very difficult to maintain, and a portion of them were actually condemned as unsafe in 1914. The university then asked for $40,000 to build a concrete-and-steel stadium, but only got half of the original request. However, after three sections of bleachers collapsed during a 1915 game, the state readily granted the additional money. The new stadium opened for the first time on October 6, 1917. It consisted of 7,500 concrete seats—roughly corresponding to the lower portion of the current stadium's east grandstand—and 3,000 wooden seats from the old field.
After the wooden seats burned down in 1922, more permanent seats were added in stages until it consisted of a horseshoe opening to the south, with a running track around the field. The stadium was renovated at various points to raise the size of the horseshoe by nearly doubling the number of rows around the stadium in stages, placing south stands in front of the Wisconsin Field House (built in 1930), the removal of the track and addition of nearly 11,000 seats in 1958, the addition of the upper deck in 1966, and finally the 2005 addition of boxes along the eastern rim of the stadium.
The field was originally natural grass, and was one of the first in the United States to convert to artificial turf
in 1968. A new AstroTurf
field was installed in 1990. A new type of artificial grass field, infilled FieldTurf
was installed for the 2003 season.
The stadium also houses athletic offices of the university. In 2002, a large-scale reconstruction project commenced, which added luxury boxes, a five-story office building, and separate football program offices. In addition, concessions, restrooms and other infrastructure items were upgraded, the walkway around the field was removed, and new scoreboards were installed. The construction was completed prior to the start of the 2005 season. The football team continued to play at the stadium throughout the construction.
Also during this period of reconstruction at the stadium, changes were made to the visiting team locker room. Known as one of the best visiting team locker rooms in the Big Ten Conference, it was initially painted a bright pink, a color thought to affect the play of the visiting team (similar to Iowa's pale pink visiting locker room). The UW Athletic Dept. decided that the color may irritate the opposing team and had the room painted a pale shade of blue called "prison blue." It is known in this way because it is the color used in Wisconsin state prison cells and is intended to have a "calming effect." Since this change, the Badgers have had a 43-4 home record.
The numbers of Wisconsin's two Heisman Trophy
winners, Alan Ameche
and Ron Dayne
, are displayed on the upper deck façade. Both of their numbers (35 and 33, respectively) are retired; The retired numbers of Elroy Hirsch
(40), Dave Schreiner
(80), Allan Schafer
(83), and Pat Richter
(88) were added during the 2006 football season.
At Barry Alvarez
's final game as head coach in 2005, plans were announced to place a statue of him in the Stadium's Kellner Plaza. The bronze statue
was unveiled on 13 October 2006. On 17 November, it was joined by a similar statue of former UW athlete and athletic director
Pat Richter
.
, 13–10, for the first time in over a decade. As the final gun sounded, students began to charge the field to celebrate, but were blocked by the guardrails surrounding the field. The crowd in the back, not fully aware of what was going on at the front, continued to move forward, now being aided by gravity. As a result, those up front got caught and were pressed against the rails, and then were trampled as the throng spilled onto the field. 73 students were injured, six of them critically. Several Badgers football players assisted with removing the injured from the tangle. Per Mar Security (stadium security) and the University of Wisconsin were later found liable for this situation.
As a result, design changes were made in the stadium which increased the size and strength of the fences, along with better training of stadium personnel to handle a field rush. A field rush on October 16, 2010 after a defeat of #1 Ohio State
proved the measures taken after 1993 worked, and only one minor injury took place as UW and Madison Police instead assisted students onto the field in a safe manner and opened up gates onto the field.
The Fifth Quarter
In 1969, the Badgers had lost 24 straight games, and Michael Leckrone
took over the Wisconsin Marching Band
. Working with athletic director Elroy Hirsch
, Leckrone and the band created a fan event called "The Fifth Quarter", that took place at the end of the game.
Songs typically played during the Fifth Quarter include "On Wisconsin," "You've Said It All" (also known as the "Bud" song, referring to its beginning as a jingle in a Budweiser beer commercial), "Space Badgers" (A variation on the opening to Also sprach Zarathustra
), "Dance Little Bird" (The Chicken Dance), "Beer Barrel Polka
," "Tequila
," and "Hey Baby." Many spectators remain in the stands for twenty minutes after the game to enjoy the performance. Many of the songs are associated with specific choreography in which the band, cheerleaders and the audience all participate.
At the end of the Fifth Quarter, the band lines up to play "Varsity" as the spectators sing. The band then exits the field via the north entrance to perform more and sing "It's Hard to Be Humble," after which the band marches to the Mosse Humanities Building, where it is dismissed.
The Fifth Quarter was officially named in 1978, and its traditions have been passed down since then.
The Wave
Camp Randall performs a non-traditional wave, following a strict pattern. The student section, more specifically section P, begins the wave by sending it around the stadium once counter-clockwise, then once in slow-motion, then once at double the original speed, then reversed (clockwise), and finally, splitting it into two counter-rotational waves. This is traditionally attempted at least once during every home game in the second or third quarter, but is rarely completed in full sequence until latter games in the season. Poorly executed waves receive the muskie clap
.
The Chant aka P vs O
Like other schools, Badger fans perform a call-and-response chant before kickoffs; however, theirs is much more vulgar than many others. The most famous chant is between the upper classmen sections and the lower classmen in Section "O". During Steve Miller Band's Swingtown the song starts with a long "Ooooooh" which is followed a quick "sucks" by surrounding sections, then section "O" responds with a "Fuck You" then all sections reply with an "Eat Shit." Despite attempts by administration to rid the stadium of this chant in order to provide a more family-friendly atmosphere, profanities still abound at certain points during the game.
"Jump Around": History & Controversy
Another tradition at UW Football games is the "Jump Around" where fans dance to the House of Pain
song of the same name
. This takes place between the third and fourth quarters.
The "Jump Around" roots began when a group of the UW men's swim team regularly snuck both a discman and megaphone into games and played Jump Around to rile up their section. The official UW tradition started on Saturday, October 10, 1998, at the Badgers' Homecoming game against the Purdue Boilermakers
After no offensive points in the third quarter, and en route to their second 6-0 start of the modern football era, one of the Badgers' marketing agents, who was in charge of sound, piped the song through the loudspeakers. It stirred up fans and players and has become a tradition of the last decade.
However, on September 6, 2003 (the Badgers' first home game of the season), with construction of the skyboxes surrounding the stadium, UW officials decided to cancel the "Jump Around" tradition that had been a staple for 5 years. Stadium security and the local police department had been informed of this decision, but no notification had been given to the fans. As the fourth quarter began and students realized there had been no "Jump Around," they became upset. Some students jumped around even without the requisite music. Then an entire section sat down in protest, a majority directed their middle finger at the sound booth, and a chant of "Fuck the sound guy" began. Sitting down was particularly significant as the student section generally stands on the bleachers while the team is playing (in contrast to the rest of the stadium, which sits while the team plays and stands during halftime). Chanting and booing
continued through the majority of the fourth quarter. With 6:29 to go in the game, Lee Evans
scored on a 99-yard play and led the Badgers to a victory, thrilling the crowd.
When news surfaced on Monday, September 8, that this event was not a technical or human malfunction, but rather a decision by campus officials, the students launched a protest. Petitions circulated and students pushed back against administration. Structural engineers confirmed that the stadium would suffer no structural damage caused by the vibrations created by jumping. Two days later, Chancellor John D. Wiley
announced that the "Jump Around" tradition would resume.
has used the stadium as the site for its world championships
in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1999, 2002, and 2006.
The stadium is also used by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
for its state football championships.
The Green Bay Packers
have played 12 exhibition games at Camp Randall, which has a larger seating capacity
than the Packers' home stadium, Lambeau Field
. The series began in 1986, shortly after the Chicago Bears
began to use nearby University of Wisconsin-Platteville
as a training camp site. The most recent pre-season Packers game at Camp Randall was in 1999.
Camp Randall has also hosted a number of major concerts, including: Pink Floyd
(May 20, 1988 & July 3, 1994), Genesis
(June 9, 1992), U2
(September 13, 1992 & June 25, 1997) & The Rolling Stones
(August 26, 1994 & October 6, 1997)
The University of Wisconsin men's and women's ice hockey teams each played an outdoor hockey game at Camp Randall Stadium on February 6, 2010 as part of the Culver's
Camp Randall Hockey Classic. The Wisconsin women defeated Bemidji State 6-1, while the Badger men beat Michigan 3-2.
The Field House
was home to the UW basketball
teams until January 1998, when they moved into the Kohl Center
. It is still home to Wisconsin's wrestling
and women's volleyball
teams.
The Dave McClain Athletic Facility, an indoor football practice facility, was built to honor the late Badgers football coach, Dave McClain
. In addition to the indoor practice field, it also houses locker rooms for football, men's and women's track
, and softball
. Strength and conditioning, sports medicine
and academic services also have facilities in the building.
The Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center ("The Shell") features a 200 meter indoor track surrounding several facilities for intramural sports. The indoor track facilities are used by the UW track teams during their indoor seasons. The Shell also houses a practice ice sheet and the locker room for the women's ice hockey
team.
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
. It has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football
Wisconsin Badgers football
The Wisconsin Badgers are a college football program that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision and the Big Ten Conference. They play their home games at Camp Randall Stadium, the fourth-oldest stadium in college football...
team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a complete stadium since 1917. It is located on the center-southern region of the University of Wisconsin
University of Wisconsin–Madison
The University of Wisconsin–Madison is a public research university located in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. Founded in 1848, UW–Madison is the flagship campus of the University of Wisconsin System. It became a land-grant institution in 1866...
campus. The stadium seats 80,321. It is the oldest and fifth largest stadium in the Big Ten Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...
, and the 41st largest stadium in the world.
History
The stadium received its name because it lies on the grounds of Camp RandallCamp Randall
Camp Randall is a historic U.S. Army site in Madison, Wisconsin, named after Wisconsin Governor Alexander Randall. It was a training facility of the Union Army during the Civil War, with more than 70,000 recruits receiving training there. Later, a hospital and a stockade for Confederate prisoners...
, a former Union Army training camp during the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. The camp was named after then Governor Alexander Randall
Alexander Randall
Alexander Williams Randall was a lawyer, judge and politician from Wisconsin. He served as the sixth Governor of Wisconsin from 1858 until 1861. He was instrumental in raising and organizing the first Wisconsin volunteer troops for the Union Army during the American Civil War.-Biography:Randall...
, who later became Postmaster General
United States Postmaster General
The United States Postmaster General is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Postal Service. The office, in one form or another, is older than both the United States Constitution and the United States Declaration of Independence...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
After an outcry from veterans over plans to turn the site into building lots, the state bought it in 1893 and presented it to the university. Soon afterward, it was pressed into service as an athletic ground. It was originally used by the track and field team before the football and baseball teams moved there in 1895. However, the wooden bleachers were very difficult to maintain, and a portion of them were actually condemned as unsafe in 1914. The university then asked for $40,000 to build a concrete-and-steel stadium, but only got half of the original request. However, after three sections of bleachers collapsed during a 1915 game, the state readily granted the additional money. The new stadium opened for the first time on October 6, 1917. It consisted of 7,500 concrete seats—roughly corresponding to the lower portion of the current stadium's east grandstand—and 3,000 wooden seats from the old field.
After the wooden seats burned down in 1922, more permanent seats were added in stages until it consisted of a horseshoe opening to the south, with a running track around the field. The stadium was renovated at various points to raise the size of the horseshoe by nearly doubling the number of rows around the stadium in stages, placing south stands in front of the Wisconsin Field House (built in 1930), the removal of the track and addition of nearly 11,000 seats in 1958, the addition of the upper deck in 1966, and finally the 2005 addition of boxes along the eastern rim of the stadium.
The field was originally natural grass, and was one of the first in the United States to convert to artificial turf
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
in 1968. A new AstroTurf
AstroTurf
AstroTurf is a brand of artificial turf. Although the term is a registered trademark, it is sometimes used as a generic description of any kind of artificial turf. The original AstroTurf product was a short pile synthetic turf while the current products incorporate modern features such as...
field was installed in 1990. A new type of artificial grass field, infilled FieldTurf
FieldTurf
FieldTurf is a brand of artificial turf playing surface. It is manufactured and installed by the FieldTurf Tarkett division of Tarkett Inc., based in Calhoun, Georgia, USA. In the late 1990s, the artificial surface changed the industry with a design intended to replicate real grass...
was installed for the 2003 season.
The stadium also houses athletic offices of the university. In 2002, a large-scale reconstruction project commenced, which added luxury boxes, a five-story office building, and separate football program offices. In addition, concessions, restrooms and other infrastructure items were upgraded, the walkway around the field was removed, and new scoreboards were installed. The construction was completed prior to the start of the 2005 season. The football team continued to play at the stadium throughout the construction.
Also during this period of reconstruction at the stadium, changes were made to the visiting team locker room. Known as one of the best visiting team locker rooms in the Big Ten Conference, it was initially painted a bright pink, a color thought to affect the play of the visiting team (similar to Iowa's pale pink visiting locker room). The UW Athletic Dept. decided that the color may irritate the opposing team and had the room painted a pale shade of blue called "prison blue." It is known in this way because it is the color used in Wisconsin state prison cells and is intended to have a "calming effect." Since this change, the Badgers have had a 43-4 home record.
The numbers of Wisconsin's two Heisman Trophy
Heisman Trophy
The Heisman Memorial Trophy Award , is awarded annually to the player deemed the most outstanding player in collegiate football. It was created in 1935 as the Downtown Athletic Club trophy and renamed in 1936 following the death of the Club's athletic director, John Heisman The Heisman Memorial...
winners, Alan Ameche
Alan Ameche
Lino Dante "Alan" Ameche , nicknamed "The Horse", was an American football player who played six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League after winning the Heisman Trophy in college at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was elected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first...
and Ron Dayne
Ron Dayne
Ron Dayne is a former American football running back who is currently a free agent. He holds the NCAA record for career rushing yards, and he won the 1999 Heisman Trophy.-Early life:...
, are displayed on the upper deck façade. Both of their numbers (35 and 33, respectively) are retired; The retired numbers of Elroy Hirsch
Elroy Hirsch
Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch was an American football running back and receiver for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Rockets, nicknamed for his unusual running style.-Early life:...
(40), Dave Schreiner
Dave Schreiner
David Nathan "Dave" Schreiner was an American football player. He was a two-time All-American end at Wisconsin and a 1943 draft choice of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League. He was killed in action as a Marine during the Battle of Okinawa. He was elected to the College Football Hall...
(80), Allan Schafer
1944 Wisconsin Badgers football team
The 1944 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the 1944 college football season. This was the first season since 1905 that the Badgers started the season away from Camp Randall Stadium .With a war-depleted roster, freshman Allan Schafer was named the...
(83), and Pat Richter
Pat Richter
Hugh Vernon Richter is the former University of Wisconsin–Madison athletic director and American football player. He was responsible for hiring Barry Alvarez from Notre Dame in 1990 as head football coach, restoring the Badgers football program to national prominence.-Playing career:Richter was...
(88) were added during the 2006 football season.
At Barry Alvarez
Barry Alvarez
Barry Alvarez is a former American football player and coach and currently the Director of Athletics at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He served as the head football coach at Wisconsin for 16 seasons from 1990 to 2005, compiling a career college football record of 118–73–4...
's final game as head coach in 2005, plans were announced to place a statue of him in the Stadium's Kellner Plaza. The bronze statue
Statue
A statue is a sculpture in the round representing a person or persons, an animal, an idea or an event, normally full-length, as opposed to a bust, and at least close to life-size, or larger...
was unveiled on 13 October 2006. On 17 November, it was joined by a similar statue of former UW athlete and athletic director
Athletic director
An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...
Pat Richter
Pat Richter
Hugh Vernon Richter is the former University of Wisconsin–Madison athletic director and American football player. He was responsible for hiring Barry Alvarez from Notre Dame in 1990 as head football coach, restoring the Badgers football program to national prominence.-Playing career:Richter was...
.
"The Camp Randall Crush"
On October 30, 1993, the Wisconsin Badgers football team defeated the Michigan Wolverines1993 Michigan Wolverines football team
The 1993 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1993 college football season. The team's head coach was Gary Moeller. The Wolverines played their home games at Michigan Stadium. That year Michigan Wolverines football competed in the Big Ten Conference in...
, 13–10, for the first time in over a decade. As the final gun sounded, students began to charge the field to celebrate, but were blocked by the guardrails surrounding the field. The crowd in the back, not fully aware of what was going on at the front, continued to move forward, now being aided by gravity. As a result, those up front got caught and were pressed against the rails, and then were trampled as the throng spilled onto the field. 73 students were injured, six of them critically. Several Badgers football players assisted with removing the injured from the tangle. Per Mar Security (stadium security) and the University of Wisconsin were later found liable for this situation.
As a result, design changes were made in the stadium which increased the size and strength of the fences, along with better training of stadium personnel to handle a field rush. A field rush on October 16, 2010 after a defeat of #1 Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...
proved the measures taken after 1993 worked, and only one minor injury took place as UW and Madison Police instead assisted students onto the field in a safe manner and opened up gates onto the field.
Off-the-field traditions
Badger football events at Camp Randall Stadium include numerous traditions. Some of these include:The Fifth Quarter
In 1969, the Badgers had lost 24 straight games, and Michael Leckrone
Michael Leckrone
Michael Leckrone has been the director of the University of Wisconsin Marching Band since 1969. He is noted for his extraordinary ability to remember the names of all the past and present members of the band, as well as where they were from, and what instrument they played.-Background:Leckrone...
took over the Wisconsin Marching Band
University of Wisconsin Marching Band
The University of Wisconsin Marching Band is the marching band for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. It was formed with 11 members in the fall of 1885 to support the military battalion. Today, it has grown to over 300 members and performs at all Badger home football games.-History:The...
. Working with athletic director Elroy Hirsch
Elroy Hirsch
Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch was an American football running back and receiver for the Los Angeles Rams and Chicago Rockets, nicknamed for his unusual running style.-Early life:...
, Leckrone and the band created a fan event called "The Fifth Quarter", that took place at the end of the game.
Songs typically played during the Fifth Quarter include "On Wisconsin," "You've Said It All" (also known as the "Bud" song, referring to its beginning as a jingle in a Budweiser beer commercial), "Space Badgers" (A variation on the opening to Also sprach Zarathustra
Also sprach Zarathustra (Richard Strauss)
Also sprach Zarathustra, Op. 30 is a tone poem by Richard Strauss, composed in 1896 and inspired by Friedrich Nietzsche's philosophical treatise of the same name. The composer conducted its first performance on 27 November 1896 in Frankfurt...
), "Dance Little Bird" (The Chicken Dance), "Beer Barrel Polka
Beer Barrel Polka
Beer Barrel Polka, also known as Roll Out the Barrel, is a song which became popular worldwide during World War II. The music was composed by the Czech musician Jaromír Vejvoda in 1927. Eduard Ingriš wrote the first arrangement of the piece, after Vejvoda came upon the melody and sought Ingriš's...
," "Tequila
Tequila (song)
"Tequila" is a 1958 Latin-flavored rock and roll song recorded by the group, the Champs. The title of the song constitutes the entirety of the lyrics, and is spoken a total of three times during the course of the song. "Tequila" became a #1 hit on both the pop and R&B charts at the time of its...
," and "Hey Baby." Many spectators remain in the stands for twenty minutes after the game to enjoy the performance. Many of the songs are associated with specific choreography in which the band, cheerleaders and the audience all participate.
At the end of the Fifth Quarter, the band lines up to play "Varsity" as the spectators sing. The band then exits the field via the north entrance to perform more and sing "It's Hard to Be Humble," after which the band marches to the Mosse Humanities Building, where it is dismissed.
The Fifth Quarter was officially named in 1978, and its traditions have been passed down since then.
The Wave
Camp Randall performs a non-traditional wave, following a strict pattern. The student section, more specifically section P, begins the wave by sending it around the stadium once counter-clockwise, then once in slow-motion, then once at double the original speed, then reversed (clockwise), and finally, splitting it into two counter-rotational waves. This is traditionally attempted at least once during every home game in the second or third quarter, but is rarely completed in full sequence until latter games in the season. Poorly executed waves receive the muskie clap
Gator Chomp
The Gator Chomp is a gesture made by fans and players of the University of Florida to show their support of their Florida Gators sports teams. The chomp originated in 1981....
.
The Chant aka P vs O
Like other schools, Badger fans perform a call-and-response chant before kickoffs; however, theirs is much more vulgar than many others. The most famous chant is between the upper classmen sections and the lower classmen in Section "O". During Steve Miller Band's Swingtown the song starts with a long "Ooooooh" which is followed a quick "sucks" by surrounding sections, then section "O" responds with a "Fuck You" then all sections reply with an "Eat Shit." Despite attempts by administration to rid the stadium of this chant in order to provide a more family-friendly atmosphere, profanities still abound at certain points during the game.
"Jump Around": History & Controversy
Another tradition at UW Football games is the "Jump Around" where fans dance to the House of Pain
House of Pain
House of Pain is an American hip hop group who released three albums in the 1990s before lead rapper Everlast left to pursue his solo career again. The group's name is a reference to the H.G. Wells novel The Island of Dr...
song of the same name
Jump Around
"Jump Around" is the title of a song by the band House of Pain, produced by DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill. This song became a hit in 1992, reaching Number 3 in the USA. A 1993 re-release of the song in the UK, where the original had been a minor hit, peaked at Number 8. On VH1's 100 Greatest Songs of...
. This takes place between the third and fourth quarters.
The "Jump Around" roots began when a group of the UW men's swim team regularly snuck both a discman and megaphone into games and played Jump Around to rile up their section. The official UW tradition started on Saturday, October 10, 1998, at the Badgers' Homecoming game against the Purdue Boilermakers
Purdue Boilermakers
Boilermakers is the official nickname for the intercollegiate athletic teams of Purdue University. As is common with athletic nicknames, it is also used as colloquial designation of Purdue's students and alumni at large....
After no offensive points in the third quarter, and en route to their second 6-0 start of the modern football era, one of the Badgers' marketing agents, who was in charge of sound, piped the song through the loudspeakers. It stirred up fans and players and has become a tradition of the last decade.
However, on September 6, 2003 (the Badgers' first home game of the season), with construction of the skyboxes surrounding the stadium, UW officials decided to cancel the "Jump Around" tradition that had been a staple for 5 years. Stadium security and the local police department had been informed of this decision, but no notification had been given to the fans. As the fourth quarter began and students realized there had been no "Jump Around," they became upset. Some students jumped around even without the requisite music. Then an entire section sat down in protest, a majority directed their middle finger at the sound booth, and a chant of "Fuck the sound guy" began. Sitting down was particularly significant as the student section generally stands on the bleachers while the team is playing (in contrast to the rest of the stadium, which sits while the team plays and stands during halftime). Chanting and booing
Booing
Booing is an act of showing displeasure for someone or something, generally an entertainer, by loudly yelling boo! or making other noises of disparagement, such as hissing. People may make hand signs at the entertainer, such as the thumbs down sign...
continued through the majority of the fourth quarter. With 6:29 to go in the game, Lee Evans
Lee Evans (American football)
-Buffalo Bills:Evans was initially assigned the jersey number 84. Evans, as a reference to his full name, had always worn the number 3 in college, a number that was not allowed to be used in professional football for wide receivers...
scored on a 99-yard play and led the Badgers to a victory, thrilling the crowd.
When news surfaced on Monday, September 8, that this event was not a technical or human malfunction, but rather a decision by campus officials, the students launched a protest. Petitions circulated and students pushed back against administration. Structural engineers confirmed that the stadium would suffer no structural damage caused by the vibrations created by jumping. Two days later, Chancellor John D. Wiley
John D. Wiley
John Duncan Wiley is a faculty member and former chancellor of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Wiley was named the 28th Chancellor of the University on November 10, 2000, and assumed office on January 1, 2001. He stepped down as chancellor and returned to the faculty on September 1, 2008...
announced that the "Jump Around" tradition would resume.
Other uses
Drum Corps InternationalDrum Corps International
Drum Corps International , formed in 1972, is the non-profit governing body operating the North American drum and bugle corps circuit for junior corps, whose members are between the ages of 14 and 21. It is the counterpart of Drum Corps Associates which governs senior or all-age drum corps...
has used the stadium as the site for its world championships
DCI Division I World Champions
At the end of the summer season, Drum Corps International World Class corps compete to earn the title of DCI World Class Champion . The championships consist of 3 rounds—Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Finals—held on the first or second Thursday, Friday, and Saturday of August...
in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1992, 1999, 2002, and 2006.
The stadium is also used by the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association
The Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association is the regulatory body for all high school sports in Wisconsin. Its history dates to 1895, making it the first high school athletic organization in the country...
for its state football championships.
The Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
have played 12 exhibition games at Camp Randall, which has a larger seating capacity
Seating capacity
Seating capacity refers to the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, both in terms of the physical space available, and in terms of limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that seats two to a stadium that seats...
than the Packers' home stadium, Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
. The series began in 1986, shortly after the Chicago Bears
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
began to use nearby University of Wisconsin-Platteville
University of Wisconsin-Platteville
University of Wisconsin–Platteville is a public university located in Platteville, Wisconsin, United States. It is part of the University of Wisconsin System and offers both bachelor and master degrees...
as a training camp site. The most recent pre-season Packers game at Camp Randall was in 1999.
Camp Randall has also hosted a number of major concerts, including: Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...
(May 20, 1988 & July 3, 1994), Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
(June 9, 1992), U2
U2
U2 are an Irish rock band from Dublin. Formed in 1976, the group consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton , and Larry Mullen, Jr. . U2's early sound was rooted in post-punk but eventually grew to incorporate influences from many genres of popular music...
(September 13, 1992 & June 25, 1997) & The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
(August 26, 1994 & October 6, 1997)
The University of Wisconsin men's and women's ice hockey teams each played an outdoor hockey game at Camp Randall Stadium on February 6, 2010 as part of the Culver's
Culver's
Culver’s is a privately owned and operated fast casual restaurant chain that operates primarily in the Midwestern United States. The first Culver’s opened in 1984 in Sauk City, Wisconsin...
Camp Randall Hockey Classic. The Wisconsin women defeated Bemidji State 6-1, while the Badger men beat Michigan 3-2.
The Camp Randall Complex
The Camp Randall athletic complex also includes three other facilities.The Field House
University of Wisconsin Field House
The Wisconsin Field House is an 11,500-seat multi-purpose arena in Madison, Wisconsin, directly south of and abutting Camp Randall Stadium. Designed by Wisconsin State Architect Arthur Peabody in consultation with Paul Cret of the firm of Laird and Cret, the arena opened in 1930...
was home to the UW basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
teams until January 1998, when they moved into the Kohl Center
Kohl Center
The Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's and women's basketball and ice hockey teams. Seating capacity is variable, as the center can be rearranged to accommodate...
. It is still home to Wisconsin's wrestling
Collegiate wrestling
Collegiate wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as Folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practised at the collegiate and university level in the United States. Collegiate wrestling emerged from the folk wrestling styles practised in the early history of the United States...
and women's volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
teams.
The Dave McClain Athletic Facility, an indoor football practice facility, was built to honor the late Badgers football coach, Dave McClain
Dave McClain (coach)
Dave McClain was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Ball State University from 1971 to 1977 and at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1978 to 1985, compiling a career college football record of 92–67–6.-Playing career:A native of Upper Sandusky,...
. In addition to the indoor practice field, it also houses locker rooms for football, men's and women's track
Track and field
Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...
, and softball
Softball
Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...
. Strength and conditioning, sports medicine
Sports medicine
Sports medicine is a branch of medicine that deals with physical fitness, treatment and prevention of injuries related to sports and exercise...
and academic services also have facilities in the building.
The Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center ("The Shell") features a 200 meter indoor track surrounding several facilities for intramural sports. The indoor track facilities are used by the UW track teams during their indoor seasons. The Shell also houses a practice ice sheet and the locker room for the women's ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team.
Largest Crowds
The following are the ten largest crowds in stadium history:- 1. 83,184 November 12, 2005 vs Iowa
- 2. 83,069 November 6, 2004 vs #24 Minnesota
- 3. 83,022 September 24, 2005 vs #13 Michigan
- 4. 82,828 October 22, 2005 vs Purdue
- 5. 82,630 September 22, 2007 vs Iowa
- 6. 82,468 October 23, 2004 vs Northwestern
- 7. 82,352 November 10, 2007 vs #13 Michigan
- 8. 82,330 October 1, 2005 vs Indiana
- 9. 82,306 October 2, 2004 vs Illinois
- 10. 82,179 September 25, 2004 vs Penn State