MADISON, Wis. – The Wisconsin women's rowing program's legendary history dates back 50 years and that history is captured in "Row On Wisconsin," a documentary that is set to air on BTN.

First screened at Wisconsin's women's rowing's 50th anniversary reunion celebration last September, the public will now get a chance to watch for the first time on Monday, May 8 at 7 p.m. CT on BTN.



"Inspired by a storied program and dedicated to the championship-winning 1975 boat, a group of Wisconsin women's rowers come together to celebrate 50 years of excellence, discovering along the way that their passion for the sport and for each other is the ultimate weapon against life's obstacles."

The film captures what it means to row on the women's team at Wisconsin and dives into the history of how the program got off the ground in the 1970s. It ties that history and some of the great names in Badger women's rowing, like the late Carie Graves, with UW's program today. A three-time Olympian and inaugural UW Athletic Hall of Famer, USRowing's Female Athlete of the Year award is named after Spring Green native Graves.

Voices range from current head coach Bebe Bryans to Jay Mimier, who served as the program's first leader in the 1970s. It also includes UW Athletic Hall of Fame rower and coach Sue Ela, along with other past and current student-athletes.

Badger rowing alumni Cindy Rusher, Julie Van Cleave and Erit Yellen served as executive producers for the film, while Benjamin Scott and Wisconsin alum Steven Oritt produced the 22-minute long documentary.

The desire to create this documentary was born during the planning stage of UW women's rowing's 50th anniversary. The anniversary celebration took place this past September and marked the largest women's sports reunion ever at UW.
 
In conjunction with the documentary and the anniversary celebration, UW Athletics is raising funds to endow the Badger women's rowing program, with a campaign called "A Race for Wisco Women." The goal of this campaign is $2 million; $200,000 is needed to complete it. To learn more about this campaign, please contact the Athletic Development Office at 608.262.1000 or development@uwbadgers.com.