[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 4]
[House]
[Page 4547]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



             PAYING TRIBUTE TO THE UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Kind) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. KIND. Mr. Speaker, I, too, want to congratulate the terrific 
representative from Michigan (Ms. Stabenow) and her Michigan State 
University team for their wonderful win in the NCAA double 
championship, along with my other friend from Michigan (Mr. Kildee) who 
actually had three of the players who were born and raised in Flint, 
Michigan, a city in his district.
  They are worthy champions, but the gentlewoman is correct, they had 
to go through my Wisconsin Badgers in the Final Four in order to get 
there, and that is the reason why I am rising here tonight.
  I want to rise to pay tribute to my home State University, the 
University of Wisconsin. The University of Wisconsin athletic program 
has had an extraordinary run of success over the past years. A level of 
success that has made all of Wisconsin residents very proud.
  On January 1, the Wisconsin football team defeated Stanford 
University to become the first Big 10 school to win back to back Rose 
Bowl games.
  Shortly after that victory, Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne, who 
earlier in the season became the NCAA all-time career rushing yardage 
leader was awarded the Heisman trophy, the highest award for a college 
football player.
  The success of our football team was followed by the Badger men's 
hockey team which won the Western Collegiate Hockey Association League 
title this year and was ranked as the number one hockey team in the 
Nation throughout most of the season. Unfortunately, the hockey team 
fell one game short of reaching the NCAA hockey Frozen Four, 
nevertheless, our hockey team continued its tradition of being one of 
the elite hockey programs in the entire country.
  More recently, the Wisconsin men and women's basketball programs 
reached unprecedented heights. Last week the women's basketball team 
was crowned women's national invitational tournament champions, a team 
that included a player which is the pride of my hometown of LaCross, 
Kelly Paulus.
  On Saturday, the men's basketball team capped their Cinderella run 
through the NCAA tournament with an appearance in the Final Four 
eventually losing to the NCAA champs, Michigan State University.
  The men's Final Four appearance was the first by a Wisconsin team 
since 1941, a 59-year drought; and we are hoping that will not be 
repeated soon.
  The success of the Wisconsin athletic programs reflects the values 
that all Wisconsin residents hold dear. The Wisconsin teams are not 
flashy, and they are not loaded up with superstar recruits from across 
the country. Instead, Wisconsin teams are successful because they work 
hard, played as a team and believed in themselves. The Wisconsin 
players are almost all born and raised in Wisconsin.
  They were not the most heavily recruited players. They chose instead 
to attend their home State school because they wanted a quality 
education along with the experience of playing with the Badgers.
  By sticking to the Wisconsin values, hard work, team work and a 
dedication to getting an education, the young men and women who played 
for the University of Wisconsin were winners before they ever put on a 
Badger uniform. This year, however, they took their winning ways to the 
national stage and showed the Nation that Wisconsin can succeed at more 
than just making good cheese.
  I want to congratulate football coach Barry Alverez, hockey coach, 
Jeff Sauer; women's basketball coach, Jane Albright; and the men's 
basketball coach, Dick Bennett. They are all outstanding role models 
for their athletes and for all of Wisconsin students.
  I want to congratulate the Wisconsin marching band and the 
cheerleaders and the Wisconsin fans, the Badger pride followed our team 
from Pasadena to Indianapolis and they helped spread the word about the 
great people of Wisconsin.
  Finally, Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay special tribute to the men and 
women athletes at the University of Wisconsin. The success that they 
achieved on the court and the class with which they conducted 
themselves off the court, has made the great State of Wisconsin very 
proud. They are what is good with collegiate athletics today, and they 
are wonderful role models for the children who cheer for them and who 
try to emulate them.

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