Wisconsin football had one of its lowest season-opening attendance in 30+ years last week, with only a little more than 65,000 fans. The major reasons were Wisconsin's down season last year, but also the weeknight game. Wisconsin has never attempted a weeknight opener before, and it struggled to draw the normal 75,000+ that the first game would usually have.
In week two, things got better as the game was on a Saturday, but not much better. The Badgers only had 70,368, which means they were still about 10,000 short of the max capacity that Camp Randall offers. At the same time, many programs would dream of that sort of attendance in a non-conference game (cough, Minnesota, cough). It's not where Wisconsin wants to see it.
Week 2 attendance: 70,368
— John Steppe (@JSteppe1) September 6, 2025
Wisconsin football was still about 10,000 short of full capacity against Middle Tennessee
This is still short of last year's average attendance. The Badgers finished the season with an average of 76,057 fans. If you think that it was inflated by the Big Ten conference games, think again. The Badgers opened against Western Michigan with 75,158 attendees, and they next hosted South Dakota, which had 76,069.
Which means through two games this season, the Badgers are sitting at 136,320, while last season they were at 151,227 after the first two games. Wisconsin needs a winning season to keep fans engaged and buying tickets.
The game itself was also a bit underwhelming until it wasn't. The first half did not go according to plan at all. The Badgers came out flat and struggled along the offensive line, resulting in a surprising 14-10 halftime score against Middle Tennessee.
The second half saw a dramatic shift, and the 70,000+ fans in attendance got their money's worth, with 28 unanswered points, resulting in a final score of 42-10. The Badger fans were expecting to go home frustrated after the first half, but left feeling much better about the product on the field.