From Red Ink to Roses: The Turbulent Transformation of a Big Ten Program

Telander (Heaven is a Playground) describes a year's events in the University of Wisconsin athletic department through a series of vignettes. Three people draw most of his attention: Barry Baum, a reporter for the student newspaper; Rick Aberman, the university's sports psychologist; and Al Fish, the administrative officer for the athletic department. Telander also weaves in the stories of dozens of Wisconsin athletes, coaches and administrators to trace the changes in the university's athletic department throughout 1991. The year was marked by the department's efforts to cut its budget deficit, an endeavor that included eliminating baseball, fencing and three other sports. In well-written, magazine-style prose, Telander (a senior writer for Sports Illustrated ) puts a human face on the University of Wisconsin's athletic department. And although the year held a number of memorable events, Telander, as it turns out, was too quick off the mark, for in 1993 the football team, which struggled in 1991, went 10-1-1 and won the Rose Bowl. Photos not seen by PW . (Sept. )