UW Athletics announce jersey-patch partnership with iconic fast food chain

Wisconsin joins the list of schools going all-in on NIL efforts with jersey patches

Courtesey of uwbadgers.com

A few seasons ago, the iconic Culver's logo made its debut on the Kohl Center court. The partnership existed long before the logo was added to the floor, but its arrival marked a significant advancement in Wisconsin's NIL efforts.

Today, the partnership with Culver’s leveled up, as Wisconsin named the restaurant the official jersey patch sponsor of the Badger football, men’s basketball and men’s hockey teams, the university announced in a release. 

In appropriate fashion, the announcement was accompanied by a social media video featuring some of the key players from each of the three teams. Mason Posa and Euegne Hilton represented football, with Nolan Winter and Jack Janicki showing off the new basketball jerseys and Logan Hensler and JJ Wiebusch sporting the new hockey threads.

For anyone that grew up or lived in Wisconsin, sharing a meal with friends or family at Culver’s is a universal experience, and often becomes a mainstay in the lives of the state’s residents. Embracing the shared experience of Wisconsin residents Badger fans to announce the partnership feels like the perfect way to launch this advancement of the university’s partnership with the chain.

Culver’s is no longer unique to just Wisconsin, but the Wisconsin-based chain embraces the state’s heritage as well as any organization, making it a no-brainer to partner with the state’s flagship university to continue expansion of its presence in the ever-changing landscape of college athletics.

“There are few things more quintessentially Wisconsin than Culver’s,” Deputy AD/Chief Revenue Officer Mitchell Pinta said in the school’s statement. 

Uniform patches were approved by the NCAA on Jan. 23, and Wisconsin is amongst a relatively small group of schools that has already gone all-in on this new revenue stream. The Culver’s patch, however, is not the first of its kind in the Wisconsin athletic department

On April 2, Wisconsin announced a UW Health patch would be featured on women’s basketball, hockey, volleyball and softball jerseys for the upcoming season, marking the first jersey-patch sponsorship devoted to women’s athletics across the country. 

Jersey patches becoming a part of the college game is by no means a welcoming sight in terms of the direction of college sports, but unfortunately, it’s the world we live in. NIL funding has become such a critical part of the game, and any way Wisconsin can bring in additional revenue only helps that effort. 

I don’t like the idea of corporate partnerships on college jerseys any more than the next person. I do, however, think that Wisconsin has handled the situation well by providing a unique partnership for women’s athletics, and now embracing one of the most iconic Wisconsin-based brands for its men’s programs.

Again, it’s unfortunate that this is what the college game has come to, but with a new athletic director soon to be announced, and the goal of becoming more competitive in terms of spending, jumping on the jersey-patch wave early feels like a smart decision for Wisconsin.