A new face and new duties are part of the expansion of the UW sports communications office. Justin Doherty, the UW assistant athletic director for communications, said interviews are underway to bring in someone to join the full-time staff. Among the duties for the new hire will be to serve as the main contact for men's basketball. Bringing in a sixth full-time employee was precipitated by two developments: 1) Doherty will focus on running the ever-in-demand department, thus relenquishing his duties as the No. 1 contact for football; 2) Tam Flarup, the most veteran member of the staff, will focus strictly on her role as director of website services. Doherty said he will continue to travel with football, but the day-to-day duties will fall to Brian Lucas, who previously handled men's basketball. Diane Nordstrom will continue to handle volleyball, but also will become the No. 1 contact for women's... >>MORE

  By the sounds of things, Wisconsin assistant coach Kevin Patrick made a good impression on the folks in Alaska. One of two finalists for the job as head coach of the Nanooks, a Central Collegiate Hockey Association program located in Fairbanks, Patrick formally interviewed for the post Thursday. As part of that process, Patrick took questions from a group of approximately 70 fans. Patrick talked about the importance of building relationships with his new players and the support staff; about having a specific plan heading into each season and sticking to it; about his goal of competing for championships. Patrick, 39, said that if he was hired -- a decision is expected sometime next week -- he would look to add Dallas Ferguson as his top assistant. Ferguson is the other finalist for the job. A former Nanooks player and assistant under the previous two Alaska coaches -- Tavis MacMillian resigned after the 2006-07 season and Doc Del Castillo stepped down after the 2007-08 season -- Ferguson was interviewed Wednesday. Not a surprise... >>MORE

 Not a lot of definitives came out of the recent American Hockey Coaches Association get-together in Florida, but two separate discussions are worth revisiting. One was behind closed doors: Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, associate AD Sean Frazier, men's coach Mike Eaves and women's coach Mark Johnson had a private audience with Western Collegiate Hockey Association commissioner Bruce McLeod. The UW entourage asked for the meeting in order to hash out a series of grievances that occurred during the season. On the men's side, controversial losses to Denver and St. Cloud State in which officiating errors took place, as well as a dust-up with North Dakota that Eaves felt was allowed to exceed acceptable boundaries. On the women's side, the apparent use of an ineligible player by eventual WCHA and NCAA champion Minnesota-Duluth, which has yet to yield any sanctions.  "It was a tough year on a lot of fronts,'' Eaves said. "What needed to be put on the table was a little... >>MORE

 Wisconsin assistant coach Kevin Patrick is pouring all his energies into landing the job as head coach of Alaska, the Central Collegiate Hockey Association entry located in Fairbanks. That's why he removed his name from consideration as a candidate for the opening at Green Bay, the Tier I junior program in the U.S. Hockey League. Patrick, a UW assistant since 2005, is one of two finalists for the job of coaching the Nanooks following the abrupt resignation of Doc Del Castillo after the 2007-08 season. Alaska assistant Dallas Ferguson is scheduled to be interviewed Wednesday. Patrick will be interviewed Thursday. The new hire will be announced next week by athletic director Forrest Karr, a former Madison Edgewood High School goaltender who, like Patrick, graduated from Notre Dame after playing for the Fighting... >>MORE

 Wisconsin assistant coach Kevin Patrick confirmed Tuesday that he again has interest in the opening at Alaska. Patrick was one of three finalists for the job of running the program in Fairbanks 10 months ago, but lost out to Nebraska-Omaha assistant Doc DelCastillo. DelCastillo abruptly resigned earlier this month, citing family issues and a desire to move back to the Midwest. Fairbanks athletic director Forrest Karr intends to conduct a similar search process as last year. That involves approximately six interviews over the telephone, with the three finalists coming to Alaska for face-to-face interviews. Karr says he hopes to have a new coach in place by May 10. It appears the situation in Fairbanks has changed significantly since Patrick last interviewed. DelCastillo reportedly has more than a dozen prospects signed or committed for next season and beyond. The next coach would not only have to assess those recruits, but also determine how much scholarship money has been earmarked for those who... >>MORE

 The latest issue of Red Line Report, an independent international scouting service, has some record-setting projections for the Wisconsin camp. RLR has nine players with ties to the Badgers ranked on its list of prospects eligible for the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. The UW record for most players chosen in the same NHL draft was in 1982 when eight were taken: Eric Faust, Patrick Flatley, Tony Granato, Jim Johannson, Dave Maley, Ted Pearson, Ernie Vargas and Marty Wiitala. Eight Badgers recruits are ranked by RLR and four are coming in next season: defenseman Jake Gardiner (ranked 29th), center Matt Thurber (89th), center Derk Stepan (182nd) and winger Jordy Murray (192nd). The other four are expected in 2009-10: winger Tyler Barnes (85th), defenseman Justin Schultz (90th), winger Brock Montpetit (166th) and defenseman Patrick Wiercoich (224th). Ranked 81st in defenseman Cody Goloubef, who just completed his freshman season with the Badgers. RLR singled out Schultz, a 17-year-old with Westside of the British... >>MORE

 As expected, Wisconsin coach Mike Eaves sent out national letters of intent to six prospects for 2008-09 and all are in the process of signing and returning them. The group includes defenseman Jake Gardiner with Minnetonka (Minn.) High School; defenseman Ryan Little with Green Bay of the U.S. Hockey League; winger Jordy Murray with Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.) High School; defenseman Eric Springer with Sioux Falls of the USHL; center Derek Stepan with Shattuck St. Mary's (Minn.) High School; and center Matt Thurber with Omaha of the USHL. Meanwhile, it remains to be seen if Eaves will have to look for another assistant coach in wake of developments at the Alaska campus in Fairbanks. Doc DelCastillo resigned Thursday after one season as coach of the Nanooks, opening the door to the possibility that UW assistant Kevin Patrick could be approached. Patrick was interviewed as a finalist for the job last spring. He said Thursday that he was aware of the situation in Fairbanks, but hadn't been contacted by anyone at the school. Forrest... >>MORE

 The Wisconsin Athletic Department undergoes an independent financial audit every year. The latest was compiled by the Madison firm of Virchow Krause & Co. for the year ending June 30, 2007. It was released as part of a recent presentation to the UW Athletic Board. An item of interest is the list of long-term debts, totaling $103.393 million, shouldered by UW Athletics. It owes $76.676 million on the renovation of Camp Randall Stadium; $17.083 million on the Kohl Center; $5.482 million on the Porter Crew House; and $1.139 million on the McClain Center. It also owes $473,954 on the Goodman Softball Diamond; $389,815 on the McClimon Track and $9,297 on the Nielsen Tennis Stadium. Another item of interest is the value of the land, buildings and fixtures, improvements other than buildings and equipment: $233.772 million. Take away accumulated depreciation for those items and the assets are worth $185.850 million. Another item of interest is the fact UW Athletics had $68.842 million in gifts, endowments and other... >>MORE