For the better part of the 21st century, those in the UW Athletic Department have been trying to bring a sense of decorative order and honor to the university's sports history. 

That's especially the case in football, where bronze statues have risen from concrete, uniform numbers have been retired and grainy images that date back to the 1880s have been enlarged and put under display lights inside refurbished Camp Randall Stadium.

That kind of treatment will continue today when the Badgers open their 120th season by playing host to Akron at 11 a.m.

Distinguished guests will be members of the 1998 team — the one with five future first-round NFL draft picks — that went 11-1 and won the Big Ten Conference and Rose Bowl titles.

These Martha Stewart-like efforts are all well and good, but what if Mother Nature goes off the deep end or something unspeakably man-made is in the on-deck circle of life?

That's why the folks in UW Athletics should have the gang over in engineering build a good-sized time capsule that will hold up against the forces.

The easy part of this project is making the hole to bury it: A couple of sticks of dynamite near the base of that dopey sculpture that stands at the corner of Monroe Street and Breese Terrace.

The hard part is coming up with the right mix of items to reflect the culture of Badger football as we know it now, things that tell its story long after we're gone.

Here's a list of 38 possibilities, one for each season in which the Badgers have appeared in the national rankings:

1. A throat lozenge from Matt Lepay, the voice of the Badgers.

2. The canceled check of that $330,000 contract buyout given to Don Morton.

3. A pair of size 19 turf shoes worn by XXXXXL offensive tackle Aaron Gibson.

4. A flask.

5. A 1993 Rose Bowl ring (Yes, I have a donor).

6. A lock of hair from former UW-Madison Chancellor Donna Shalala, who planted the seeds of the current renaissance.

7. A lock of hair from Barry Al … wait … never mind.

8. A copy of UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez's autobiography "Don't Flinch."

9. Keys to the Bucky Wagon.

10. Coach Bret Bielema's gameday windbreaker.

11. A "Jump Around" CD.

12. A video clip of Ron Dayne's run against Iowa in 1999 that broke the NCAA record for career rushing yards.

13. A copy of "Third Down and a War to Go" that chronicles the star-crossed Badgers football team of 1942.

14. A ticket stub from the grand reopening of Camp Randall Stadium in 2005.

15. A copy of "Always a Badger: The Pat Richter Story."

16. The six retired jerseys of Dayne (No. 33), Alan Ameche (No. 35), Elroy Hirsch (No. 40), Dave Schreiner (No. 80), Allan Shafer (No. 83) and Richter (No. 88).

17. A hankie used on the team bus as it rolled through a jubilant Madison on Dec. 5, 1993, after the Badgers defeated Michigan State in Tokyo to clinch their first Rose Bowl berth in 31 years.

18. A baton from UW Marching Band director Mike Lechrone.

19. A ticket stub from the 2008 season because the price will never be this cheap again.

20. A receipt from Bucky's Lockerroom inside Camp Randall.

21. A State Journal sports section.

22. Sheet music to "On Wisconsin."