Student-athlete graduates celebrate excellence at spring ceremony
May 11, 2026 | General News
126 Badgers graduate with 3.52 average GPA
MADISON, Wis. – "Everywhere you go, you represent us, you represent the Badgers. Our hope is that wherever you go, you wear that W with pride."
Those parting words from interim Director of Athletics Marcus Sedberry echoed through the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion Friday as the Wisconsin Athletic Department celebrated its 126 spring graduates.
18 of those athletes completed their master's degrees, the most common of which was UW's Sports Leadership MS, through the University's #1 ranked School of Education.
Representatives from all of UW's 23 sports heard Sedberry stress the importance of continuing to learn, working as a team and not forgetting where one comes from.
The 126 students breakdown as follows: women's rowing (16), men's rowing (12), football (12), women's hockey (10), women's lightweight rowing (9), women's track and field (8), men's hockey (7), women's basketball (7), men's swimming and diving (6), men's track and field (6), women's swimming and diving (6), women's soccer (5), men's basketball (4), wrestling (4), men's golf (3), women's golf (3), volleyball (2), men's soccer (1), men's Tennis (1), men's Cross Country (1), softball (1), women's tennis (1), women's cross country (1)
A general theme across the day was the sacrifice and hard work put in by the graduates across their time at Wisconsin, both in their athletic training and their studies. This point was emphasized by student speaker Liam Smith, a coxswain for the men's rowing team.
"The ability to push through pain, support a teammate, follow a gameplan, and to get back up every single time - those don't expire when you leave, those are yours," said Smith.
"Those abilities show up in boardrooms, classrooms, hospitals and boardrooms. Being a student-athlete at Wisconsin has not only prepared you to compete on the field, but compete in our world."
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