Camp Randall Stadium: A Storied History of Wisconsin Football
Camp Randall Stadium, located on the campus of the University of Wisconsin in Madison, Wisconsin, has been the home of the Wisconsin Badgers football team in rudimentary form since 1895, and as a fully functioning stadium since 1917. The stadium stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of Wisconsin, evolving from a Civil War training ground to a beloved athletic venue.
From Civil War Camp to Fairground
Before becoming the iconic stadium it is today, the land now known as Camp Randall had a rich and diverse history. In the late 1850s, the State Agricultural Society leased the grounds, then known as the William D. Bruen Estate, for its organization’s use, hosting the Wisconsin State Fair ten times between 1858 and 1885. Wisconsinites flocked to the state capital to celebrate agricultural progress. The State Fair centered around showcasing the power of the state’s growing agriculture industry, with visitors marveling at large farm machinery. The 1860 State Fair, for instance, exhibited inventions by John Muir, a native Wisconsinite, including an automatic horse feeder.
With the outbreak of the Civil War in April 1861, President Abraham Lincoln called for troops from the state militias. Wisconsin Governor Alexander Randall promptly began to muster volunteer soldiers. The Wisconsin State Fair did not take place that year, and the State Agricultural Society provided the fairground for mustering purposes, as the flat open land was well-suited for drilling soldiers. In commemoration of the state’s first war-time Governor, the site was named Camp Randall.
Camp Randall served as a United States Army base, the largest staging point for Wisconsin troops entering the American Civil War. At this camp, fresh volunteers received quick training before heading off to join the Union Army. Governor Alexander Randall, a strong abolitionist, pledged that first regiment to the Union cause, and more to come. The first regiment of volunteers organized at Camp Scott in Milwaukee.
Just a few years before the war, in 1858 and 1860, the camp's flat open area on what was then the west side of Madison had hosted the Wisconsin State Fair. With the outbreak of war, the Wisconsin Agricultural Society provided its fairground to be used as a training camp. Some of the new recruits bunked in what had been the State Fair's cattle sheds, while others lived in tents. The fair's machinery exhibit building was converted to a mess hall that could feed 3,000 men at a time. The typical recruits' day at Camp Randall began at 5am with a cannon shot that woke thousands. The men had volunteered from around the state, arriving in companies of 100. Each company typically came from one region - students and young businessmen from Madison, farm-boys from Delton, lumberjacks from Eau Claire, etc. Ten companies formed each regiment of a thousand recruits. The camp could handle several regiments at once. The recruits' mornings and afternoons were largely spent drilling - learning marching, muskets, cooking in the field, and discipline. Most of the recruits were young unmarried fellows, seventeen to twenty-one years old, with no military experience. In some cases older veterans of the Mexican War or European wars ran the drills for the green recruits. A company from Eau Claire bought a young bald eagle on their way to Camp Randall, and he became Old Abe, the famous mascot of the 8th Wisconsin Infantry Regiment. Less well-known, a pet black bear named Bruin came along to Camp Randall with Harlan Squires, a 16-year-old recruit from Delton. Bruin became a mascot and pet of the 12th Regiment. But not all was noble, orderly, and whimsical. Soldiers wrote home complaining of fleas in their straw bedding, of cold guard duty in January, and of getting sick from being fed spoiled beef. Some caused a ruckus in town while out on pass. Some spent their idle time drinking and gambling. Training for a regiment lasted "from a few weeks to two months or more." When training finished and the early regiments left for duty, they were celebrated with speeches from notables, brass bands, church bells, and large crowds. The units that mustered at Camp Randall fought in important battles of the war, including the First Battle of Bull Run, Antietam, Gettysburg, and the Wilderness campaign, and many gave their lives. Fresh replacement troops to fill in for soldiers lost or discharged were also trained at Camp Randall. In April 1862, Union forces captured thousands of Confederate soldiers at Island No. 10 on the Mississippi River in southern Missouri. About 1200 of them were sent to Camp Randall - mostly from the 1st Alabama Infantry Regiment, along with some from Tennessee, Arkansas, and other places. Some had been injured or sick to begin with, and all suffered an eight-day ride on an overcrowded boat up the Mississippi. Conditions in camp were generally decent for a Civil War POW stockade, but not good. The army scrimped on rations, prisoners fought each other, there was antagonism between prisoners and guards, the hospital was overloaded so that sick prisoners lay on the floor, and prisoners died at an alarming rate. The camp didn't have a good fence, so some healthy prisoners just walked out. Because of the poor infrastructure and spotty discipline, it took half of the 19th Regiment to guard the thousand prisoners - Union soldiers who were needed elsewhere. So on May 30, all the healthy-enough POWs were shipped by train to Camp Douglas in Chicago. Some sick POWs remained, gradually transferring out or dying over the next few months.
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In 1865, following the end of the Civil War, the state returned the site of Camp Randall to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society for its continued use as fairground. During this period, due to urban expansion, developers became interested in the land’s prime location. However, public outrage and a growing interest in preserving the site’s history stalled the decision to sell the renowned site. The Grand Army of the Republic’s Wisconsin department, an organization of Civil War veterans, released a statement in support for Camp Randall’s preservation.
After an outcry from veterans over plans to turn the site into building lots, the state bought it in 1893 and presented it to the university. Of the original 53½ acres, a segment was set aside as Camp Randall Park in 1911. The Memorial Arch was added in 1912, fifty years after the war, located where one of the camp's gates stood, where soldiers would have entered and left. It was designed by Lew F. Porter.
From Athletic Ground to Stadium
Soon afterward, it was pressed into service as an athletic ground. It was originally used by the track and field team before the football and baseball teams moved there in 1895. Intercollegiate athletics began on campus in 1881, and football joined the scene in 1889. The first games were played on the lower part of campus.
The wooden bleachers were very difficult to maintain, and some were condemned as unsafe in 1914. The stadium was built at its present site in 1913. A tragic collapse of the wooden bleachers in 1915 prompted the UW to make plans for concrete stands. The university then asked for $40,000 to build a concrete-and-steel stadium, and got $20,000. After three sections of bleachers collapsed during a 1915 game, the state readily granted the additional money. Two years later, a 10,000-seat concrete stadium was built with a grant of $15,000 from the state legislature. The first game played in the present Camp Randall Stadium was a thrilling 10-7 homecoming victory over Minnesota in 1917.
The new stadium opened for the first time on October 6, 1917. After the wooden seats burned down in 1922, more permanent seats were added in stages until it consisted of a horseshoe opening to the south, with a running track around the field.
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Expansions and Renovations
Like many other stadiums, Camp Randall has been expanded many times throughout its history. By 1951 the seating capacity was at 51,000 and in 1958, the track around the playing field was removed and lowered, bringing fans closer to the action. In 1940, the UW built an addition to the east side of Camp Randall that included housing for 150 people (as well as a rifle range and facilities for boxing and wrestling). In 1951, the university decided to turn the Stadium Dorm rooms into office space. The stadium also houses athletic offices of the university.
A three level press box and second deck on the west side was completed by the 1966 season increasing the capacity to 77,745. A revision of the seating arrangements in 1955 boosted the capacity to 52,788. In 1958, the running track was removed, the playing field was lowered 10 feet and capacity was increased to 63,435. A second deck on the west side was added in 1966, raising the capacity to 77,745. Restructuring in the student section in '94, lowered capacity to 76,129.
In the early 1990s, Astroturf was installed replacing the grass field and a new scoreboard was added in 1992. Camp Randall initially had a natural grass field that was played on through 1967. Beginning in 1968, artificial grass called “Astro Turf” was used on the field up until the early 2,000s. Facility improvements have been with the installation of an artificial turf playing field in the summer of 1990 and a computerized scoreboard and message center was added in 1992.
In 2002, a large-scale reconstruction project commenced, which added luxury boxes, a five-story office building, and separate football program offices. In addition, concessions, restrooms and other infrastructure items were upgraded, the walkway around the field was removed, and new scoreboards were installed. Prior to the start of the 2005 season, Camp Randall Stadium was expanded, adding nearly 1,000 club seats, 72 luxury suites, rebuilding the south end zone and enclosing the southeast and west corners with new seats. The Astroturf playing field was removed and replaced by Fieldturf. The construction was completed prior to the start of the 2004 season. The renovation completed in 2005 raised the capacity to 80,321. The 84-year old Camp Randall Stadium underwent a four-year renovation begun in December of 2001. The playing surface has a new FieldTurf covering, and has expanded over the former pedestrian track providing both teams on the field with more room. Fans walking through the new Badger Alley, the former tunnel on the east side of the stadium, will notice new flooring, and new restrooms and concession areas. Among restroom fixtures, women's fixtures improved from 212 to 463, and men's increased from 445 to 499; concession points of sale increased from 135 to 157; and accessible seating improved from 99 seats to 292. To allow back-loading of the stadium, two portals were built to provide patrons a path to their seats. A dining room for UW team meals was also added to this area. The 2005 Camp Randall Stadium Renovation assures Badger fans and Athletic Department personnel will be able to compete well into the 21st century.
Announced in the fall of 2010 and completed in January 2014, the Student Athlete Performance Center, an expansion of Camp Randall to the north, included a new scoreboard, academic and strength training facilities, multimedia instructional space, lower-level football team access tunnel, and renovated locker rooms, shower rooms and equipment space.
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In 2018, a plan was announced to build premium seating in the south end zone (replacing existing bleacher seating), replace the artificial turf, upgrade utilities, and improve the press box. These projects were completed over the summer of 2022, cutting the stadium's capacity from 80,321 down to its current number of 75,822. In 2022, the CR Future project, a comprehensive renovation of the south end zone was completed. This new space introduced new premium seating and hospitality clubs to one of the best venues in college athletics.
With the 2024 expansion of the Big Ten and its new television contract adding new evening games to the schedule deep into November, and the possibility of hosting College Football Playoff games, UW-Madison replaced the field after the 2023 season with a heated surface and winterization measures which will allow it to continue hosting games until the end of the year.
Traditions and Notable Events
Badger football events at Camp Randall Stadium include numerous traditions. The numbers of Wisconsin's two Heisman Trophy winners, Alan Ameche and Ron Dayne, are displayed on the upper deck façade. At Barry Alvarez's final game as head coach in 2005, plans were announced to place a statue of him in the Stadium's Kellner Plaza. The bronze statue was unveiled in 2006 on October 13.
In 1969, the Badgers had lost 24 straight games, and Michael Leckrone took over the Wisconsin Marching Band. Songs typically played during the Fifth Quarter include "On Wisconsin", "You've Said It All" (also known as the "Bud" song, referring to its beginning as a jingle in a Budweiser beer commercial), "Space Badgers" (A variation on the opening to Also sprach Zarathustra), "Dance Little Bird" (The Chicken Dance), "Beer Barrel Polka", "Tequila", and "Hey Baby." Many spectators remain in the stands for 20 minutes after the game to enjoy the performance. At the end of the Fifth Quarter, the band lines up to play "Varsity" as the spectators sing.
Another tradition at UW football games is the "Jump Around", where fans dance to the House of Pain song of the same name. This takes place between the third and fourth quarters. The tradition began during the 1993 football season with the men's swim team smuggling in a megaphone and discman and playing the song to rile up sections O and P. On September 6, 2003, (the Badgers' first home game of the season), with construction of the skyboxes surrounding the stadium, UW officials decided to cancel the "Jump Around" tradition that had been a staple for five years. Stadium security and the local police department had been informed of this decision, but no notification had been given to the fans. As the fourth quarter began and students realized there had been no "Jump Around", they became upset. Some jumped around without the requisite music. Then an entire section sat down in protest, a majority directed their middle finger at the sound booth, and a chant of "Fuck the sound guy" began. Sitting down was particularly significant as the student section generally stands on the bleachers while the team is playing. Chanting and booing continued through the majority of the fourth quarter. When news surfaced on Monday, September 8, 2003, that this event was not a technical or human malfunction, but rather a decision by campus officials, the students launched a protest. Petitions circulated and students pushed back against administration. Structural engineers confirmed that the stadium could withstand the vibrations created by jumping. Two days later, Chancellor John D. Wiley announced that "Jump Around" would return.
On October 30, 1993, Wisconsin defeated the Michigan Wolverines, 13-10, for the first time since 1981. As the final gun sounded, students began to charge the field to celebrate, but were blocked by the guardrails surrounding the field. The crowd in the back, not aware of what was going on at the front, continued to move forward, aided by gravity. Those in front were crushed against the rails and then trampled when the rails finally gave way and the throng spilled onto the field. There were no fatalities, but 73 students were injured, six of them critically. Several Badgers football players assisted with removing the injured from the tangle. As a result, design changes were made in the stadium that increased the size and strength of the fences. Stadium personnel also received training to help them better handle a field rush.
The Green Bay Packers played twelve exhibition games at Camp Randall, which, up until 2013, had a larger seating capacity than the Packers' home stadium, Lambeau Field. The series began in 1986, shortly after the Chicago Bears began to use nearby University of Wisconsin-Platteville as a training camp site.
The University of Wisconsin men's and women's ice hockey teams each played an outdoor hockey game at Camp Randall Stadium on February 6, 2010, as part of the Culver's Camp Randall Hockey Classic.
Other Facilities at Camp Randall
The Camp Randall athletic complex includes three additional facilities: the Field House, home to the UW basketball teams until January 1998, and now the wrestling and women's volleyball teams; the Dave McClain Athletic Facility, an indoor football practice facility named for the late Badgers football coach, Dave McClain, which also houses locker rooms for football, men's and women's track, and soccer, and strength and conditioning, sports medicine, and academic services; and the Camp Randall Memorial Sports Center ("The Shell"), which contains a 200-meter indoor track that surrounds facilities for intramural sports. The indoor track is used by the UW track teams during their indoor seasons. The Shell also houses a practice ice sheet.
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