MADISON, Wisconsin, October 24, 2025 – The Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy (CROWE) releases a report on The Economic Impact of Badger Football’s Declining Performance.
“Badger Football has been a vital pillar of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the city of Madison, and the state of Wisconsin,” said Ananth Seshadri, Mary Sue and Mike Shannon Distinguished Chair &
CROWE Director. “It is important for us to understand the economic impact of Badger Football’s declining performance over the last few years, with winning percentages dropping from over 90% in 2017 to below 50% in 2024 and the current season.” In the report, CROWE researchers compare Badger Football’s performance and profit with its peers in the Big Ten conference and uses the best available evidence to estimate the impact of Badger Football’s declining performance.
The report finds that
- Persistent poor performance threatens to cut UW Athletics Department’s profits by $20 million annually—roughly one-third of current levels—endangering subsidies for other sports and straining the department’s overall operations, as evidenced by declining attendance and season ticket sales.
- Beyond athletics, Badger Football’s declining performance could erode the University of Wisconsin Madison’s alumni donations, diminish the volume and quality of student applications, reduce research expenditures and outputs, and further depress the university’s ranking amid existing pressures like federal funding cuts and declining international enrollment.
- Badger Football’s poor performance could also diminish economic activity in Madison by $160 million and in the state of Wisconsin by $280 million annually, driven by lower attendance, reduced game-day spending, decreased tourism, and weakened reputational benefits.
“Our analysis shows that revitalizing Badger Football is critical for the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the city of Madison, and the state of Wisconsin,” said Professor Seshadri. “This requires strategic investments targeting the complementarity between physical capital (training facilities) and human capital (players, coaches and staff), including enhanced recruiting budgets and competitive Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) spending and compensation for players and coaches”.
