Wisconsin Women's Hockey 2026-27

[Arreis]

 

[eastcoastgopher]

Why is college the smart play?

I don't think it matters whether it's the smart play or not (it is). The fact is the players believe it is. We'll see how depleted next year's PWHL draft ends up being.

 

[Gargoyle]

If you're on facebook, the Badgers just posted an video where the new players introduced themselves (with a graphic of their jersey numbers) and answered some random questions. I see it here: https://www.facebook.com/wisconsinwomenshockey
It must be somewhere besides facebook, but I don't see it on the team's web page.

 

[robertearle]

If you're on facebook, the Badgers just posted an video where the new players introduced themselves (with a graphic of their jersey numbers) and answered some random questions. I see it here: https://www.facebook.com/wisconsinwomenshockey
It must be somewhere besides facebook, but I don't see it on the team's web page.

I understand, there's only so many numbers to go around. But they're 'recycling' some pretty big ones, big 'skates' to fill: Harvey, Eden, Roque, Knight, Carolyn Prevost. I see the numbers and the names immediately pop into my head. Traditions live on, and get added to.

(I remember when #23 Kim Drake scored her first goal, I looked up Knight on Twitter and tweeted her, saying "#23 had a goal for the Badgers today. It looked really familiar", and she tweeted back a smiley face.)

 

[BuckyB]

College is the smart play for the top players
Continue toward an advanced degree for free
Enjoy another year of college life where it costs you nothing
Let the PWHL 12 team existence shake itself out another year and it will only get better.
NIL money will also be in play for the top players…. Stay in school and make 25-50k is not a bad one year gig.

 

[robertearle]

$272 for general admission, up from $192 last year. That's $16 per game for SEVENTEEN games; a backdoor way of confirming Ohio State at Lambeau? Last year was $12 per game, so a 33% increase.

Reserved sections expanded to sections 3,4,5, and 14. Last year they had announced 3,4,5 and then 5 became NOT reserved, because sales didn't support it? Section 14 is center ice on the opposite side. Price is $425, up from $320 ($25 per game vs $20 last year, a 25% increase).

Deadline is August 10th.

Women's Hockey Season Ticket Information | Wisconsin Badgers

Women's Hockey Season Ticket Information Current Season Ticket Holders All women's hockey season ticket orders take place on UWBadgers.com or by contacting t...

uwbadgers.com

(The link within that page to place your order currently isn't working...)

 

[Timothy A]

$272 for general admission, up from $192 last year. That's $16 per game for SEVENTEEN games; a backdoor way of confirming Ohio State at Lambeau? Last year was $12 per game, so a 33% increase.

Reserved sections expanded to sections 3,4,5, and 14. Last year they had announced 3,4,5 and then 5 became NOT reserved, because sales didn't support it? Section 14 is center ice on the opposite side. Price is $425, up from $320 ($25 per game vs $20 last year, a 25% increase).

Deadline is August 10th.

Women's Hockey Season Ticket Information | Wisconsin Badgers

Women's Hockey Season Ticket Information Current Season Ticket Holders All women's hockey season ticket orders take place on UWBadgers.com or by contacting t...

uwbadgers.com

(The link within that page to place your order currently isn't working...)

Thanks for the heads up. $16 a game is getting up there and that is a BIG increase. It'd be nice if the increase meant a scoreboard not from 1989, or a second one on the south end, to $$$ to the players, but I'm sure we're paying for MacIntosh's vacation payout. I was eyeing up section 14 last season to stake a claim in the general seating areas, but now that a dead end. They'll just keep pushing us lower class fans more into the corners every year.

 

[Timothy A]

College is the smart play for the top players
Continue toward an advanced degree for free
Enjoy another year of college life where it costs you nothing
Let the PWHL 12 team existence shake itself out another year and it will only get better.
NIL money will also be in play for the top players…. Stay in school and make 25-50k is not a bad one year gig.

Some may want to get on with their lives and get drafted, especially the top end players. I'm sure they'll be making more $$ in the pwhl and not have to contend with going to school and playing in empty arenas half of the year in rinky dinky towns. The PWHL is the big time.

 

[Ooftah]

This is an old story. They will increase the price until the games no longer sell out. Once the “fan experience” deteriorates because of all the empty seats, people will become less and less interested. Then, of course, good luck getting people to come back – at whatever price - if the quality of play drops off even a little bit.

There are countless examples of this situation. Anyone who has gone to away games to watch the Badgers play less competitive teams knows what it is like. Friends and family (only) in the stands. Students on their laptops doing homework during the game. No energy either on or off the ice.

This is what happens when you have a revolving door of sub-par careerists running the department. They don’t care about the university and they definitely don’t care about the fans.

 

[robertearle]

This is an old story. They will increase the price until the games no longer sell out. Once the “fan experience” deteriorates because of all the empty seats, people will become less and less interested. Then, of course, good luck getting people to come back – at whatever price - if the quality of play drops off even a little bit.

There are countless examples of this situation. Anyone who has gone to away games to watch the Badgers play less competitive teams knows what it is like. Friends and family (only) in the stands. Students on their laptops doing homework during the game. No energy either on or off the ice.

This is what happens when you have a revolving door of sub-par careerists running the department. They don’t care about the university and they definitely don’t care about the fans.

UW volleyball was only about 50/50 on sell-outs last season. Always still good-sized crowds, but fewer full sell-outs.

 

[Ooftah]

$272 for general admission, up from $192 last year. That's $16 per game for SEVENTEEN games; a backdoor way of confirming Ohio State at Lambeau? Last year was $12 per game, so a 33% increase.

Reserved sections expanded to sections 3,4,5, and 14. Last year they had announced 3,4,5 and then 5 became NOT reserved, because sales didn't support it? Section 14 is center ice on the opposite side. Price is $425, up from $320 ($25 per game vs $20 last year, a 25% increase).

Deadline is August 10th.

Women's Hockey Season Ticket Information | Wisconsin Badgers

Women's Hockey Season Ticket Information Current Season Ticket Holders All women's hockey season ticket orders take place on UWBadgers.com or by contacting t...

uwbadgers.com

(The link within that page to place your order currently isn't working...)

Per the ticket office, "You will be able to renew your season tickets starting next week." A specific date would have been nice. I guess we'll see.

 

[Hockeyfan13]

College is the smart play for the top players
Continue toward an advanced degree for free
Enjoy another year of college life where it costs you nothing
Let the PWHL 12 team existence shake itself out another year and it will only get better.
NIL money will also be in play for the top players…. Stay in school and make 25-50k is not a bad one year gig.

Not everyone wants an advanced degree or needs it! Many hockey players are talking the bare minimum and it is hard to do both. Players like Harvey and Laila are going to make $$$ from endorsements regardless so why stick around college? Some players will have an engineering degree and don’t need a masters.
Players in the PWHL bubble who might not be as strong will do a 5th year so they can move up in the college lineup.
If NCAA goes full body contact it will be interesting to see how that impacts players to stay another year to get stronger. Lots of factors!

 

[BuckyB]

Some may want to get on with their lives and get drafted, especially the top end players. I'm sure they'll be making more $$ in the pwhl and not have to contend with going to school and playing in empty arenas half of the year in rinky dinky towns. The PWHL is the big time.

PWHL is a place to spend another 4-5 years playing hockey.
If making on average 55k with a ceiling of 125K for the absolute best player, commercial travel by bus and air, and having to live with 3 other teammates to make ends meet is the “Big time” then your sights are set very low.

 

[Hockeyfan13]

I just saw on FB

If you're on facebook, the Badgers just posted an video where the new players introduced themselves (with a graphic of their jersey numbers) and answered some random questions. I see it here: https://www.facebook.com/wisconsinwomenshockey
It must be somewhere besides facebook, but I don't see it on the team's web page.

i watched this and then saw it was Nicole G birthday the other day but not Rachel… so I looked and saw they are born 5 months apart! This entire time I thought they were twins

 

[robertearle]

I just saw on FB

i watched this and then saw it was Nicole G birthday the other day but not Rachel… so I looked and saw they are born 5 months apart! This entire time I thought they were twins

I looked that up and 'realized' the 'circumstance' all the way back before last season. But I didn't want to bring it up, because I have trouble conjuring up an explanation that's "any of my business" to be told or have explained to me ...

 

[Ooftah]

UW volleyball was only about 50/50 on sell-outs last season. Always still good-sized crowds, but fewer full sell-outs.

Fieldhouse capacity is roughly 3x that of LaBahn. Different sport. Different fan base. I will attest that not everyone crosses over between the sports. But 50/50 on sell-outs in a bigger place affects the department's budget differently. They're probably fine with driving a few hundred people out of LaBahn until the interest wanes enough to schedule indoor games at Hartmeyer and the outdoor extravaganzas in Elver Park.

 

[robertearle]

Fieldhouse capacity is roughly 3x that of LaBahn. Different sport. Different fan base. I will attest that not everyone crosses over between the sports. But 50/50 on sell-outs in a bigger place affects the department's budget differently. They're probably fine with driving a few hundred people out of LaBahn until the interest wanes enough to schedule indoor games at Hartmeyer and the outdoor extravaganzas in Elver Park.

It was, or may become, an instance of the phenomenon you were describing.

When I started going to VB, they were not using the upper deck in the Field House, meaning they were not coming close to selling out just the 4K capacity of the lower seats. As the team got really, consistently good between, say 2014 and 2019, interest grew rapidly, attendance numbers and demand made it necessary to re-open the upper levels, and by the time they won the national championship, they were consistently selling out more than 7K. And then they started jacking up the price, quickly, and by a lot. It took a couple years of significant price increases, but they have hit the 'price point' where they are no longer selling out every match. VB is at the point in your series of steps where the 'experience' is starting to suffer some. The recruiting class is such that "quality of play" is going to dropping off for the next couple years.

But they're about the mid-point of you description. That's what I was saying.

 

[Ooftah]

It was, or may become, an instance of the phenomenon you were describing.

When I started going to VB, they were not using the upper deck in the Field House, meaning they were not coming close to selling out just the 4K capacity of the lower seats. As the team got really, consistently good between, say 2014 and 2019, interest grew rapidly, attendance numbers and demand made it necessary to re-open the upper levels, and by the time they won the national championship, they were consistently selling out more than 7K. And then they started jacking up the price, quickly, and by a lot. It took a couple years of significant price increases, but they have hit the 'price point' where they are no longer selling out every match. VB is at the point in your series of steps where the 'experience' is starting to suffer some. The recruiting class is such that "quality of play" is going to dropping off for the next couple years.

But they're about the mid-point of you description. That's what I was saying.

In the case of women’s hockey, the department is milking a cash cow which, without investment, like scoreboards, etc., will allow high short-term cash flow. That is all the department cares about. They don’t give a you-know-what about the fans.

 

[robertearle]

In the case of women’s hockey, the department is milking a cash cow which, without investment, like scoreboards, etc., will allow high short-term cash flow. That is all the department cares about. That don’t give a you-know-what about the fans.

There is a web site called "VolleyTalk", and trust me, there are a good number of UW fans posting there who feel very much that same way about what the athletic department has been doing with seating and ticket prices since the national championship in 2021.

 

[Ooftah]

There is a web site called "VolleyTalk", and trust me, there are a good number of UW fans posting there who feel very much that same way about what the athletic department has been doing with seating and ticket prices since the national championship in 2021.

What options do we have to show our disapproval without having the action reflect badly on the players, their families, the coaches, etc.?

Chatting about things in social media makes us feel better but doesn't directly affect things IRL - unless you're a privileged member who's plugged into all the powers that be, of course.