The 1998 Wisconsin Badgers football team represented the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

during the

1998 NCAA Division I-A football season The 1998 NCAA Division I-A football season, play of college football in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association at the Division I-A level, began in late summer 1998 and culminated with the major bowl games in e ...

. Wisconsin finished the regular season 10–1 overall (7–1 conference) and were co-champions of the Big Ten Conference (with

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

and

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and t ...

) for the first time since

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

. They were awarded the berth in the 1999 Rose Bowl due to

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

tie-breaking rules, at the time, which gave the Rose Bowl invitation to the tied team which had gone the longest period of time without an invitation: Michigan had been in the

1998 Rose Bowl The 1998 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game, part of the 1997–98 college bowl season, played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. The 84th Rose Bowl Game, it featured top-ranked Michigan beating Washington State 21 ...

, Ohio State had been in the

1997 Rose Bowl The 1997 Rose Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game between the Arizona State Sun Devils of the Pacific-10 Conference and the Ohio State Buckeyes of the Big Ten Conference. The game was the 83rd edition of the annual Rose Bowl Game, held ...

, while Wisconsin's last Rose Bowl was

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nels ...

. The circumstances of this selection, the fact that Ohio State was the higher-ranked team (Ohio State was the pre-season #1 and spent most of the season with this ranking: Wisconsin did not play Ohio State or Michigan State that year, so Ohio State had the better record versus common opponents due to the Michigan loss), combined with the fact that the opponent (

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

) was ranked #2 and headed to the national title game before a season-ending loss, led to ridicule in the national media: most notably, Craig James' declaration that Wisconsin was "the worst team to ever play in the Rose Bowl." Wisconsin went on to defeat #6 UCLA 38–31 in the 1999 Rose Bowl. Afterward, Badger coach

Barry Alvarez Barry Lee Alvarez (born December 30, 1946) is a former American football coach and athletic director at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He served as the head football coach at Wisconsin for 16 seasons, from 1990 to 2005, compiling a caree ...

fired back, "Well, I know we're at least the second worst."

Schedule

Rankings

Roster

Regular starters

Game summaries

UCLA (Rose Bowl)

Individual awards and honors

* Tom Burke:

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

(unanimous consensus),

Bill Willis Trophy The Touchdown Club of Columbus was founded in Columbus, Ohio, in 1956 by Sam B. Nicola at the request of state auditor James A. Rhodes, who later became governor of the state. Nicola served as the club's president until his death in 1993. More th ...

, Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media) *

Aaron Gibson Aaron Gibson (born September 27, 1977) is a former American football offensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears. He also was a member of the Austin Wranglers and Cleveland Gla ...

: All-America (consensus), All-Big Ten (First Team, media; Second Team, coaches) *

Ron Dayne Ronald Dayne (born March 14, 1978) is a former professional American football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for eight seasons. Dayne played college football for the University of Wisconsin and won the 1999 Heisma ...

: All-America ( WCFF), 1999 Rose Bowl player of the Game, All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media) * Matt Davenport: All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media) *

Kevin Stemke Kevin Stemke (born November 23, 1978) is a former professional American football punter. Stemke was born in 1978 to Horst Stemke, a U.S. Olympic soccer player.

: All-Big Ten (First Team, coaches & media) * Jamar Fletcher: All-Big Ten (First Team, media; Second Team, coaches) *

Casey Rabach Casey Edward Rabach (; born September 24, 1977) is a former American football center. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the third round of the 2001 NFL Draft, and also played professionally for the Washington Redskins. He played college ...

: All-Big Ten (Second Team, coaches & media) *

Chris McIntosh Chris McIntosh (born February 20, 1977) is an American college athletics administrator, businessman, and former professional American football player who is the current athletic director at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After a standout ...

:All-Big Ten (Second Team, coaches) *

: Big Ten Coach of the Year

1999 NFL Draft The 1999 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 17–18, 1999, at the Theater at ...

References

{{Big Ten Conference football champions

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

Wisconsin Badgers football seasons Big Ten Conference football champion seasons Rose Bowl champion seasons

Wisconsin Badgers football The Wisconsin Badgers football program represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison in the sport of American football. Wisconsin competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the ...