Alabama and Wisconsin on Monday announced a home-and-home series to be played in 2024 and ’25. The initial game will be played Sept. 14, 2024 at Camp Randall Stadium, with the return game slated for Sept. 13, 2025 at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
“We’re happy to have added another quality non-conference opponent for a home-and-home series in Wisconsin,” Alabama AD Greg Byrne said. “Traveling to Camp Randall, one of the nation’s oldest stadiums, will make for a great road contest early in the 2024 season. Having them return the trip in 2025 to Bryant-Denny Stadium will also certainly provide a boost to our home slate, and we look forward to the opportunity.”
The Badgers and Crimson Tide have met just twice previously. Wisconsin took the inaugural meeting, 15-0, way back in 1928, while Alabama earned long-awaited revenge to open the 2015 season at AT&T Stadium in Dallas. It will be Alabama’s first game inside a Big Ten stadium since a 27-11 win at Penn State in 2011.
Speaking of neutral-site openers, Monday’s announcement was yet another data point in how the program that popularized the modern day neutral site opener is now going back to traditional home-and-homes. The Tide will open this season against Duke in Atlanta, begin 2020 versus USC in Dallas and then opens 2021 in Atlanta against Miami, but after that Alabama’s future schedules return to campus.
Alabama Power 5 Opponents, 2022 and Beyond:
2022: at Texas
2023: vs. Texas
2024: at Wisconsin
2025: vs. Wisconsin
2026: at West Virginia
2027: vs. West Virginia
2028: at Notre Dame
2029: vs. Notre Dame
2030: TBD
2031: TBD
2032: at Oklahoma
2033: vs. Oklahoma
Each of those home-and-home arrangements have been announced within the past year or so. In fact, the Wisconsin announcement is the fourth of 2019 alone.
Said Wisconsin AD Barry Alvarez:“It’s exciting and healthy for everyone,” enthused Alvarez, the UW director of athletics and Hall of Fame coach. “When we were contacted to see if we would be interested in a home-and-home with Alabama, I told them, ‘Let me check first with (head coach) Paul (Chryst).’
“Naturally, I would be interested.
“So, I asked Paul and he said, ‘Absolutely.’
“And we both really liked the fact that the first game is going to be here.”To make room for Alabama, Wisconsin pushed a previously-scheduled home-and-home with Virginia Tech back to 2031-32. The Badgers also have future home-and-homes with Washington State (2022-23), Pittsburgh (2026-27) and UCLA (2029-30). Wisconsin will also play a de facto NFC North neutral site/home-and-home series with Notre Dame in 2020-21; the 2020 game will be at Lambeau Field and the 2021 tilt at Soldier Field.