AM AllBadgers: UW-Madison Releases 'Smart Start' Plan for 2020 Fall; A New Commitment Coming?
Welcome to "AM AllBadgers!" Each morning, we will publish an article catching up with the news of the day prior, along with anything else we may have missed pertaining to the cardinal and white.
Wednesday brought news about UW-Madison and its plans for the 2020 fall semester. In a press release, the university unveiled its "Smart Start" initiative, which includes the following:
The University of Wisconsin–Madison plans to begin fall classes as scheduled on September 2 and offer in-person instruction in many courses until the Thanksgiving recess. The course array and the modality of instruction will be determined by departments, working with the deans of their respective school or college. This will include course instruction plans for students not able to return to the U.S. for in-person instruction.
After Thanksgiving, UW–Madison will switch to a virtual format for all courses for the final nine days of instruction plus exams. This decision is based on the likelihood that students leaving and returning to Madison over the Thanksgiving recess would increase the risk for COVID-19 infections on campus.
Read more regarding updates related to course instruction (especially classroom sizes), UW housing and its facilities, and other safety measures.
What about attending UW sporting events? As noted previously by WOZN's Zach Heilprin, that appears in the "Still to Come" section of the release:
More detailed information relating to operations this fall will be coming as our planning process moves forward. For instance, the university is in the process of evaluating its approach to various student life activities, including the Wisconsin Union, health care, student organizations, recreation programs and athletic events.
Update on Adam Krumholz Fundraiser
AllBadgers.com published a feature about how Krumholz and his girlfriend, Demitra Philosophos, started a fundraiser in a partnership with Nehemiah for essential kits to help those in the Madison community. It appears they started to distribute the goods on Wednesday:
As of Thursday morning, the fundraiser has brought in nearly $12,000, with a new goal of $20,000.
2021 Commitment Signal Unleashed
Wisconsin director of player personnel Saeed Khalif tweeted out a familiar hashtag on Wednesday that signals a potential new commitment is coming:
The football program has been on a run since Memorial Day, reeling in four new members of the 2021 class in tight end Jack Pugh, outside linebackers Darryl Peterson and T.J. Bollers, and defensive lineman Mike Jarvis. With both 247Sports and Rivals updating some Wisconsin commits' recruiting rankings on Wednesday, the program currently sits 12th and 15th in the nation, respectively.
Stay tuned for whomever decides to announce their decision next.
Micah Potter on D.J. Carton's Eligibility Waiver Being Approved
Wednesday also brought news that Ohio State transfer D.J. Carton received a waiver from the NCAA to allow him to play for Marquette immediately beginning with the 2020-21 season. Someone asked Wisconsin forward Micah Potter his thoughts on the news, and of course, he provided a superb response.
Potter and Wisconsin fought the NCAA to have his eligibility start at the beginning of the 2020-21 campaign after transferring from the Buckeyes in December 2018. It carried over into last season, and he ultimately lost that battle.
After sitting 10 games, Wisconsin went 16-5 with Potter contributing. He finished the season with 10.1 points and 6.2 rebounds per contest on way to helping the Badgers clinch a share of the Big Ten regular season championship.
