Jim Harbaugh took his team to Florida for spring break, and the college football world was thrown into a tizzy. It also meant we were likely in for copycats wherever possible.
We have our first known case of it, but this time the Wisconsin Badgers aren’t look for sun and fun. Instead, they are maybe looking to get a leg up on the competition in its season opener — LSU.
That’s because the Badgers are looking to get a waiver from the Big Ten to move some of its 2016 spring practices to legendary Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. — a.k.a. the home of the season opener between the Badgers and Tigers.
According to the ESPN.com report, Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez and Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy have already held discussions about the move and it appears the professional team is on board for the move.
“It would be good team-building for our guys [to] get a chance to get on the field a get a feel for the place,” Alvarez said.
No doubt about it, advantage Wisconsin over LSU in terms of understanding what playing in Lambeau Filed would be like. That would especially be the case should UW open its practice(s) up to the public.
Moving spring practices off campus isn’t new in the Big Ten, but moving them to the location of a future regular season game is certainly a unique move.
For those worried about Michigan’s move to IMG Academy in Florida, few such issues should exist should the Badgers get to move a practice or multiple practices a few hours northeast.
Wisconsin opens up practices on March 12, while it will play its annual spring game on April 23 at Camp Randall Stadium. Where practices happen and when in between may be up to the decision of the Big Ten.
Welcome to the slippery slope of keeping up with the Harbaugh’s of the college football world in 2016.
[ESPN]
