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Wisconsin Badgers Football and Basketball Living in the Postseason

By Jim Oxley

Dec 12, 2015; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin mascot Bucky Badger holds a tray of cookies created in his image. The cookies are to be distributed to front row fans during the game with the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Kohl Center. Marquette defeated Wisconsin 57-55. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 12, 2015; Madison, WI, USA; Wisconsin mascot Bucky Badger holds a tray of cookies created in his image. The cookies are to be distributed to front row fans during the game with the Marquette Golden Eagles at the Kohl Center. Marquette defeated Wisconsin 57-55. Mandatory Credit: Mary Langenfeld-USA TODAY Sports /
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It’s been a good postseason run for the Wisconsin Badgers football and basketball teams

The Wisconsin Badgers football and basketball teams have combined for 28 postseason appearances in the last 14 years, the most among any athletic program in the history of college sports.

Related Story: Badgers a 7-Seed in the 2016 NCAA Tournament

The Wisconsin football team earned trip No. 27 back in December and won the Holiday Bowl over USC, while the Badgers are set to begin trip No. 28 on Friday when they take on Pittsburgh in the opening round of the 2016 NCAA Tournament.

The streak dates back to 2002-2003, and is the longest in NCAA by a couple of years.

The Texas Longhorns of 1998-1999 to 2009-2010 put together 12 straight years of a football team in a bowl game and a basketball team in the NCAA Tourney, with no other school on a double-digit streak.

Michigan State is a year away from reaching double-digit years of achieving the feat, as the Spartans made it year No. 9 this year after their streak started in 2007-2008.

Florida also put together a nine-year stretch from 1989-1999 to 2006-2007.

Wisconsin started their current streak over the course of 2002-2003, when the Badges football team won the Alamo Bowl 31-28 over Colorado in overtime and the Wisconsin basketball team made it to the Sweet Sixteen before falling to Kentucky.

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Since the beginning of the streak, the Badgers football team has gone 6-8 in bowl games, including three straight losses in the Rose Bowl. The Badgers have won their last two bowl games.

The Badgers basketball team has a streak that extends even farther than the 14 years in a row the football team has made the postseason, and has seen even more success. In the past 14 years, Wisconsin has made 7 Sweet Sixteens, 3 Elite Eights, 2 Final Fours and a National Championship appearance.

Consistency has been the name of the game since the streak started.

Barry Alvarez was the head coach of the football team back in 2002-2003, and he remains a constant presence as the school’s athletic director even though the football program has seen three different coaches since he left the sidelines, and even he’s returned a few times.

The basketball program has only had two coaches during that span, and one of them, Bo Ryan, is responsible for 13 of the 14 years of the basketball team at the dance.

Next: Badgers Basketball has 18 Straight Tourney Appearances

Greg Gard and Paul Chryst, the Badgers current head coaches, have each made it to one postseason as the head coaches of their programs. They’ll be looking to make several more and keep the longest streak in NCAA history alive.

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