The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team is a NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Big Ten Conference. Home games are played at the Kohl Center, located on the University of Wisconsin–Madison campus in Madison, Wisconsin.

History

Early years (1898–1911)

Wisconsin Badger basketball began in December, 1898 with the formation of its first team coached by Dr. James C. Elsom. The Badgers played their first game on January 21, 1899, losing to the Milwaukee Normal Alumni 25–15 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin . In 1905, Christian Steinmetz became the first Wisconsin Badger basketball player to be named All-American. In the 1906-07 season, Wisconsin won its first share of the Big Ten Championship, under the coaching of Emmett Angell. They won it again the next year in 1908.

Walter Meanwell era (1911–1934)

Walter Meanwell began coaching the Badgers in 1911. In his first season, he led Wisconsin to an undefeated season (15–0), and then led them to another 15–0 season in 1913–14. Meanwell's teams would win eight Big Ten Championships during his tenure, in 1912, 1913, 1914, 1916, 1921, 1923, 1924, and 1929. Between the 1917–18 and 1919–20 seasons, Guy Lowman coached the Badgers, leading them to a 1918 Big Ten Conference Championship before Meanwell returned in 1920. Meanwell would also coach two All-Americans during his Wisconsin career, George Levis in 1916 and Harold "Bud" Foster in 1930. On December 18, 1930, the first game was played in the new Wisconsin Field House, a basketball arena with a capacity of 11,500.

Wisconsin (ⁱ/wɪsˈkɒ̃nsɪn/) is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States, in the Midwest and Great Lakes regions. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin is the 23rd largest state by total area and the 20th most populous. The state capital is Madison, and its largest city is Milwaukee, which is located on the western shore of Lake Michigan. The state is divided into 72 counties.

Wisconsin's geography is diverse, with the Northern Highland and Western Upland along with a part of the Central Plain occupying the western part of the state and lowlands stretching to the shore of Lake Michigan. Wisconsin is second to Michigan in the length of its Great Lakes coastline.

Wisconsin is known as "America's Dairyland" because it is one of the nation's leading dairy producers, particularly famous for cheese. Manufacturing, especially paper products, information technology (IT), and tourism are also major contributors to the state's economy.

Wisconsin wine refers to wine made from grapes grown in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is part of the largest American Viticultural Area (AVA), the Upper Mississippi Valley AVA, which includes southwest Wisconsin, southeast Minnesota, northeast Iowa, and northwest Illinois. The state also has two smaller designated American Viticultural Areas, the Lake Wisconsin AVA and the Wisconsin Ledge AVA.

The Wisconsin Winery Association is a statewide organization that promotes wine making in the state.

History

The first wine grapes were planted in Wisconsin by Agoston Haraszthy in the mid-19th century. Before he migrated to California and helped to found the wine industry there, he established a vineyard, winery and wine cellars overlooking the Wisconsin River at what is today the Wollersheim Winery near Prairie du Sac. Although Haraszthy found the climate of Wisconsin difficult for wine grape production, later German settlers produced wine using both European and native American grape varieties.

The Wisconsin is a statue on top of the Wisconsin Capitol Building created by Daniel Chester French.

History

The Wisconsin statue on the dome was sculpted during 1913-1914 by Daniel Chester French of New York.

The commission to create the statue of Wisconsin on the top of the dome was originally promised to Helen Farnsworth Mears, originally of Wisconsin. When Daniel Chester French agreed to produce the finial figure, the commission was switched to him.

Description

This work, often referred to as the "Golden Lady", consists of an allegorical figure reminiscent of Athena, dressed in Greek garb, her right arm outstretched to symbolize the state motto, "Forward", and wearing a helmet topped by a badger, the Wisconsin state totem.

The figure's left hand holds a globe with an eagle perched on top. Across the eagle's chest is a large W, for Wisconsin, a detail hard to discern.

Wisconsin is 15 ft 5 in (4.70 m) tall and weighs 3 short tons (2.7 t).

The lady is also in a mural in the House of Representatives.