VARSITY

Ben Brust and Alex Strouf host a specialty edition of ESPN Wisconsin College GameNight with less than 5 weeks until Selection Sunday. Ben is officially a fan of Marquette.. kind of. Colin Russo, UW grad and host at ESPN West Palm, joins to discuss the two teams and create chaos. Which team will go further in the tournament: Wisconsin or Marquette? Wednesday night bets.

New Wisconsin Badgers QB coach Kenny Gution joined Jim Rutledge on The Jump Around to talk about his move from WRs coach, why he joined Luke Fickell's staff, how new offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes fits the Badgers, the 2025 schedule, and more!

Gabe Neitzel of ESPN Milwaukee & ESPN Radio joins Jim Rutledge on The Jump Around to talk about Wisconsin football's lack of progress under Luke Fickell, the national perspective on Badgers football this offseason, the Bret Bielema Era, and Wisconsin compared to Marquette men's basketball, including player retention in the NIL era!

Badgers volleyball head coach Kelly Sheffield, former player Sarah Franklin, and current players Charlie Fuerbringer and Mimi Colyer all sit down with Jon Arias ahead of ESPN Madison's end-of-year Wisconsin Volleyball celebration at North and South Seafood & Smokehouse in Verona! Jon steps in to host this specialty segment from Jim, Matt & Molly's remote broadcast ahead of tonight's volleyball celebration. He moderates the discussion about this busy offseason for the program, transfer portal movement with players like Mimi coming in from Oregon, the beginning of Sarah's first pro season with LOVB Madison Volleyball, and Charlie's new role as a veteran on what will be a young roster heading into the 2025 season!

The Wisconsin Badgers' standoff with Xavier Lucas has come to a head after he finally departed for Miami without entering the transfer portal. The Big Ten has stepped in to back the Badgers in this ongoing legal case, but how will this situation impact the future of transfers and player movement across CFB moving forward? Shehan Jeyarajah of CBS Sports joins Pablo Iglesias and Jesse Nelson on The Jump Around talk about the Badgers' legal standoff with Miami and Xavier Lucas, how far the Big Ten might be willing to take this and calling out the ACC, and if this will set a precedent for the future of transfers, player movement, revenue-sharing contracts and more!

League One Volleyball commissioner Rosie Spaulding sits down with Matt, Jon and Jesse to discuss pro volleyball coming to Madison and the excitement for former Badgers legends like Sarah Franklin and Lauren Carlini to return to Madison as pro players! She also gives Olympic gold medalist Matt Hamilton some tips for his upcoming ceremonial first serve ahead of tonight's debut match!

ESPN senior college football writer Adam Rittenberg also joins Jim Rutledge on The Jump Around to discuss why he included Luke Fickell in his recent "Way-too-early 2025 college football coaching hot seat tiers" article. He also discusses how far the Wisconsin Badgers are from making the College Football Playoff today compared to when Luke Fickell was first hired, the program's recent coaching changes with Jeff Grimes and Kenny Guiton, lack of NIL regulation, and the growing rivalry and connection between Wisconsin and former coach Bret Bielema's Illinois program.

Ben Brust joins Jim Rutledge on The Jump Around to talk Badger men's basketball bouncing back in their first two games of their Big Ten schedule, why skeptical fans like Jim Rutledge should be excited about this year's team, and why John Blackwell is "the guy" for this team. He also explains if any of the Badger football program's transfer portal and coaching changes this offseason have eased his frustrations heading into Luke Fickell's third season.

Anthony Davis, Former Badger RB and current Dean of Students at Georgia State University, joins Jim Rutledge on The Jump Around to discuss how the current state of the transfer portal has impacted the Badgers, academics in college football, and fandom in general!

Jim and Matt are joined by Badgers legend and new HBCU national champion Chris Orr! Chris talks about winning the national championship as the linebackers coach at Jackson State this past weekend, his journey from training in the UFL to taking the job at Jackson State and how his connection to former Badgers DC Dave Aranda led him there. Matt can't help but ask Chris for his thoughts (from afar) on last season's Badgers team and what their biggest issue was. They also discuss the breaking news that Will Pauling and C.J. Williams are leaving the program, and Chris answer the question about whether more restrictions are needed for NIL or the portal? Chris wraps up naming some of his biggest influences as coaches and his dream job of one day coaching with his brothers!