UW Ice Rink

UW Ice Rink
	Interactive map of UW Ice Rink
Location	Madison, Wisconsin 53706
Coordinates	43°04′33″N 89°23′56″W / 43.075731686129565°N 89.39883187851883°W
Owner	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Operator	University of Wisconsin–Madison
Construction
Opened	1921 (103–104 years ago)
Closed	?
Tenants
	Wisconsin men's ice hockey 1921–1935

The UW Ice Rink was a temporary, outdoor ice rink that was constructed each year on the campus of the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The structure was place on the library mall, south west of the college's red gym on the opposite side of the street.

History

Wisconsin formed its first varsity ice hockey team for the 1921-22 season.^[1] For the inaugural year, the school erected a full-sized ice rink on the campus grounds immediately south of both the Memorial Union and Red Gym. The rink, which was deconstructed every year when the ice melted, was used by both the ice hockey team for games and practices as well as the students for all manner of intramural sports as well as public skating.

The ice hockey team used the rink from 1921 until 1935 when the club was suspended due mostly to the great depression.^[2] Afterwards, the rink remained a fixture on campus and was used by the fraternities to decide the intramural champion at least until the early 1940s. Mentions of the rink vanish during World War II, likely due to both student shortages and rationing. After the war, the school does mention several events that could have taken place on the rink, such as the return of both intramural hockey and the winter carnival, but there's no indication where these events took place.^[3] As a result, it's unclear exactly when the last time the UW Ice Rink was set up.

During the 1950s and 60s, several indoor rinks were built in and around Madison. When the ice hockey team was brought back, they moved their games to the Hartmeyer Ice Arena, precluding the need for their open-air home.

References

^ "The Badger Vol. [XXXVII] 1923". University of Wisconsin Madison. Retrieved September 8, 2023.
^ "Wisconsin Badgers Men's Hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved December 17, 2019.
^ "The Badger Vol. 65, 1950". University of Wisconsin Madison. Retrieved September 8, 2025.

[yearbook-1] "The Badger Vol. [XXXVII] 1923". University of Wisconsin Madison. Retrieved September 8, 2023.

[2] "Wisconsin Badgers Men's Hockey 2018-19 Media Guide" (PDF). Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved December 17, 2019.

[3] "The Badger Vol. 65, 1950". University of Wisconsin Madison. Retrieved September 8, 2025.

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Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey
Playing venues	UW Ice Rink (1921–1935) Hartmeyer Ice Arena (1963–1967) Dane County Coliseum (1967–1998) Kohl Center (1998–present)
Head coaches	A. C. Viner (1921–1923) Robert Blodgett (1923–1924) Kay Iverson (1924–1926) Rube Brandow (1926–1927) John Farquhar (1927–1930) Spike Carlson (1930–1931) Art Thomasen (1931–1935) John Riley (1963–1966) Bob Johnson (1966–1975, 1976–1982) Bill Rothwell (1975–1976) Jeff Sauer (1982–2002) Mike Eaves (2002–2016) Tony Granato (2016–2023) Mike Hastings (2023–present)
Seasons	1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–00 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26
Conference affiliations	WCHA (1970–2013) Big Ten (1968–1981, 2013–present)
Culture & lore	Badger Showdown Frozen Tundra Hockey Classic
Rivalries	Minnesota
All-time leaders	Mike Eaves (267 Points) Mark Johnson (125 Goals) Graham Melanson (81 Wins)
National championships	1973 1977 1981 1983 1990 2006
Frozen Four appearances	1970 1972 1973 1977 1978 1981 1982 1983 1990 1992* 2006 2010
NCAA Tournament appearances	1970 1972 1973 1977 1978 1981 1982 1983 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992* 1993 1994 1995 1998 2000 2001 2004 2005 2006 2008 2010 2013 2014 2021 2024
Conference Tournament titles	WCHA: 1970 1972 1973 1977 1978 1982 1983 1988 1990 1995 1998 2013 Big Ten: 2014
Hobey Baker winners	Blake Geoffrion (2010)
Notable players	Adam Burish Jake Dowell Mike Eaves Brian Elliott Jake Gardiner Paul Houck Dany Heatley Mark Johnson Ryan McDonagh Craig Norwich Steven Reinprecht Craig Smith Derek Stepan Brad Winchester
University of Wisconsin Madison, WI