Pioneers to play Badgers in exhibition game
The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men’s basketball team is scheduled to play the Wisconsin Badgers in an exhibition game on Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. in the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
PLATTEVILLE, Wis- The University of Wisconsin-Platteville men's basketball team is scheduled to play the Wisconsin Badgers in an exhibition game on Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. in the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin.
"It's a great opportunity for the student-athletes, and for our community. There are obviously so many connections still with Wisconsin here at Platteville," Pioneer Head Coach Jeff Gard explained.
Among those connections, one stands out. Jeff Gard is the younger brother to the former UW-Platteville assistant coach and current Badgers head coach Greg Gard.
Greg Gard served as an assistant coach to the legendary Bo Ryan at UW-Platteville for six seasons. The Pioneers won three NCAA Division III titles during Gard's tenure at UW-Platteville.
The elder Gard took over the Badgers last December as an interim head coach after Ryan stepped down. He was officially named the head coach last March after leading the Badgers to their 16th straight NCAA Tournament appearance and the Sweet 16.
"You always knew that he was destined for success, no matter where he started out at. A lot of that goes back to the work ethics that were developed with the family," Jeff said.
This game has another special meaning for the family. The game is played in memory of the Gard's late father, Glen, who passed away on Oct. 30, 2015.
"This is a perfect stage to bring awareness to glioblastoma and making this a brain tumor awareness game," Gard explained. "It's going to be sponsored by the UW Carbone Cancer Center, and now Southwest Health Center (in Platteville) is tied in with the Carbone Center."
During the game, in the back of his mind, Jeff knows that his dad will be on his mind.
"It's going to be a difficult and trying day, being one year ago the day dad past away. It's going to be, as we say, bittersweet day. There's obviously going to be a lot of tough feelings going into this day," Gard explained.
The Gard brothers don't want to make it a "brother versus brother" thing, but much rather focus on the student-athletes and the purpose of the game.
"It's a great opportunity for our student-athletes, and it's great national exposure for our university," said Jeff.
This will be the third time the Pioneers and Badgers have met in the exhibition season. UW-Platteville has also played games at NCAA Division I schools Purdue, UW-Milwaukee, Illinois-Chicago, and Bradley, beating the Braves 84-79 in 2008.
By Parker Debroux, UW-Platteville Communications, 608.342.1194, pr@uwplatt.edu