The Wisconsin Badgers Crew is the rowing team that represents the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Rowing at the University dates back to 1874.
The women's openweight team is an NCAA Division I team. The men's and lightweight women's programs compete at the Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) Championship Regatta because the NCAA does not sanction a men's or lightweight women's national championship. Beau Hoopman has been the men's head coach since 2023 and Victoria "Vicky" Opitz has been the women's varsity coach from 2023 to the present.
History
The first crew is believed to have set out on Lake Mendota in 1874, though the only evidence of this is a letter written in 1912 by a Wisconsin alumnus. By 1878 rowing had become an intramural sport at the university. Affectionately nicknamed "the Naval Department", the crew had a boathouse and first represented the University of Wisconsin competitively by 1893 and secured its first coach in 1894. In addition to gymnasium conditioning, early rowers used the Yahara River for training. Having no collegiate competitors in the Midwest, the crew started attending regattas in the East starting in 1896, but were denied entry to the Intercollegiate Rowing Association.