This is one outlet's own report from Yahoo Sports — the article as it was filed.
AIPROPX ReportYahoo Sports · 1h ago
Badgers banking on huge roster spending to supplant Gophers in Big Ten
CHICAGO — Mannequins donning a helmet-and-jersey combination for each Big Ten program are lined up in alphabetical order inside the Hilton Chicago this week for the conference’s media days.
It might be the only time there isn’t some sort of ulterior pecking order at play within the conference.
Going into the 2026 season, the Gophers find themselves slotted in the middle of the pack yet again, picked to finish 10th in the 18-team league, according to the annual Cleveland.com preseason poll.
Minnesota went 8-5 a year ago and finished tied for seventh. The Gophers have one of the highest rates of returning production in the country, but they never get to enjoy a premium seat on any preseason hype train. They hold their spot in the preseason poll thanks, in part, to winning four of the past five rivalry games with Wisconsin.
But the Badgers are looking to take the upper hand again, with a roster budget of more than $25 million for this season, according to The Athletic. That significant influx of cash is considered to put them in the top half of spenders in the Big Ten.
Embattled head coach Luke Fickell said at the podium Tuesday the Badgers did a “deep dive in all things we’ve done within our program,” including the way they practice and hold each other accountable. On top of that, Wisconsin will open a new $285 million indoor practice facility next week.
“We’re going in a different direction,” Fickell said. “… Over the last nine months, there’s been a hell of a lot of changes. To the naked eye, to the fan, I don’t know that you could see them all. But to the people from within the program, meaning the players, the coaches, the people that are really close to this team have seen and felt a difference throughout this entire program.”
The Badgers’ roster budget for 2026 is millions more than the Gophers are putting into their squad this season, the Pioneer Press has learned.
The Gophers’ roster spending has been in the bottom half of the conference the past two years, but P.J. Fleck and Co. have netted a higher return on investment — 5-4 in conference records in 2024 and 2025. Besides Wisconsin, Minnesota also continues to outperform Nebraska, another program with deeper pockets.
“My only focus is what we have, because that’s the only thing I can control,” Fleck said last week. “… I don’t think that’s ever going to slow down until there’s guardrails put around that.”
The Badgers’ roster spend netted headlines this week, but College Football Playoff contenders Ohio State and Oregon are believed to have roster spending around $40 million this year, according to valuations from the NIL Standard.
“There are people with an enormous amount of money right now,” Fleck said. “But again, when you look at it, I don’t feel like that’s the only formula to win. I truly don’t believe that. I think that’s a major piece of it, but I don’t think it’s the only one.
“There’s still culture. There’s still dynamics, there’s still the team, there’s the connection, there’s the bond, there’s the systems, there’s the coaches. There’s all these things that (contribute to) it. Now, (roster spending is) a big chunk of it.”
The Gophers and Badgers will have 11 regular-season games to jockey for position before this year’s Battle for Paul Bunyan’s Axe in Madison, Wis., on Black Friday.
The buck stops there.
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