Like no other: Badgers boast unique graduating class
May 11, 2017 | General News, Andy Baggot
On the brink of graduation, more than 140 Badgers will be adding one more accolade to an already impressive list of academic and athletic achievements: Proud alumni of the University of Wisconsin.
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BY ANDY BAGGOT
UWBadgers.com Insider
For the first time it includes a Sullivan Award winner as the premier amateur athlete in the U.S. That would be volleyball setter Lauren Carlini.
For the first time it includes a No. 1 overall draft pick of a professional sports league. That would be women's soccer midfielder Rose Lavelle.
For the first time it includes a sitting head coach of the Badgers. That would be Tony Granato with men's hockey.
In addition, there is the fifth Patty Kazmaier Award winner in UW women's hockey history in goaltender Ann-Renée Desbiens and three Big Ten Conference Athletes of the Year in Carlini, Lavelle and Malachy Schrobilgen from men's track and cross country.
There are more than 140 student-athletes scheduled to graduate from UW during the 2016-17 academic year — finishing up in December, May or August — and each has a unique story.
Here are three that will be in attendance Saturday when spring commencement ceremonies are held at Camp Randall Stadium:
TONY GRANATO
"I was so nervous going in, wondering if I'm going to be able to be successful as a student."
His story should be familiar by now.
Nearly three decades after leaving UW to play for the U.S. in the Olympics and fashion a record-setting, award-winning career in the NHL, Granato returned to take over the men's hockey program.
He left Madison in 1987 needing 16 credits for an undergraduate diploma in human development and family studies. His five-year contract with the school stipulated that Granato had a year to get his degree, which is required of all UW head coaches.
Granato took two classes last summer, two in the fall semester and completed the last two this spring.
Asked about his grades, Granato's answer was to note that his cumulative grade-point average — 2.9 when he left — went up.
"I did OK," he said with a smile.
Granato plans to be on hand for graduation exercises at Camp Randall, but family comes first.
The Granatos — Tony, wife Linda and grown sons Michael, Nicholas and Dominic — met in Denver on Wednesday to see the youngest child, Gabriella, graduate from the University of Colorado on Friday.
The family plans to return to Madison in time to take in UW commencement on Saturday.
"I feel like the stuff that I've been preaching to them all along, that I've kind of lived up to my end of the bargain," Tony said of his children.
Going to class was part of an exhausting, whirlwind college coaching debut for Granato. With help from younger brother Don and close friend Mark Osiecki, both associate head coaches, Granato guided the Badgers to 20 wins — a 12-victory improvement from the season before — and was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.
Granato, 52, said he utilized tutors in most of his classes and experienced his share of late-night study sessions.
On the flip side, he never rode a scooter and scrawled class notes on paper instead of using a laptop.
"I was nervous as could be walking to that first class last summer," Granato said. "Then you start to get a little bit of a rhythm and you get your habits back on what it's going to take.
"I would say it was a little bit harder than I thought from the standpoint of how much time it took. It was a little bit easier in the fact that I did better in the classes given the weight of the coaching part of it."
.@TonyGranato, just 16 credits shy of graduating before joining @NHL, receives his @UWMadison diploma Saturday http://onwisconsin.uwalumni.com/on_campus/pomp-and-circumstance/ …
— On Wisconsin (@OnWisMag) May 8, 2017
Granato said he missed three classes overall — two for recruiting purposes and one to attend NHL Hall of Famer Gordie Howe's funeral — and admitted there were instances when he wondered if school interfered with his coaching duties.
"There were times as a coach this year where I felt that I'm cheating the team a little bit," he said. "I didn't have enough one-on-one time with the players.
"But I also think they understood and I also think they respected (the effort)."
Granato, from Downers Grove, Illinois, reflected on his life as a student-athlete in the 1980s and his unique role the last 12 months.
"I came here to play for a phenomenal program and hopefully help get a chance to play professionally," he said. "Academic-wise, I liked school, but it wasn't a priority where I was planning what I was going to do if I didn't make it in hockey. I planned on making it in hockey.
"I don't know that that was right. I wish I would have taken more advantage of the academic side of it at that time where it could help me along the way."
In addition to being a second-team All-American and one of two men in program history to have 100 goals and 100 assists in his career, Granato was named Student-Athlete of the Year by the Western Collegiate Hockey Association as a senior.
"Back then, the balance for me was as lopsided as it could have been from the hockey side of it," he said.
Chris Osswald, Tamara Moore and Tony Granato. Remember the names? Each came back to @UWMadison to become a #UWGrad.
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) May 11, 2017
How did the latest academic experience change Granato?
"When I was here as a student-athlete I realized that it should have been much more balanced," he said.
"Your skill development in the classroom carries over onto the ice. If you can manage time and figure out how to learn and understand what's going on, that's a big part of helping you as a player."
As hectic as the last year has been, Granato said the circumstances were ideal. He preferred this dive-in-the-deep-end method — "It's way more rewarding," he said — over the notion of chipping away at his degree online.
"Timing-wise and opportunity-wise, it couldn't have been a better presentation than to come back here, be able to do what I did this year with the people I wanted to do it with, to work with the players and the people in this university," he said. "That's really what I'm thankful for and happy to be a part of."
ROSE LAVELLE
"I'll miss who I was in that moment, being a student-athlete and all that came with it. I'm definitely going to miss the role I had there."
Lavelle didn't attend her graduation from Mount Notre Dame High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, in 2013 because she was playing soccer.
She's jumping through some logistical hoops to make sure that doesn't happen Saturday.
Lavelle, who was chosen by Boston with the first overall pick of the National Women's Soccer League draft earlier this year, rejoiced when she saw the Breakers' schedule.
Boston plays in Chicago on Sunday, so Lavelle got clearance to fly out Thursday and catch up with the team Saturday night.
"It worked out perfectly," she said. "I miss Madison so much and the way the stars aligned for the weekend and we were (in Chicago) for the weekend, I really wanted to see everybody and experience graduation."
Speaking of hoops, Lavelle has been finishing her degree work in sociology online while competing in the NWSL and raising her profile on the U.S. women's national team.
Lavelle needed nine credits in the spring semester, including a final paper and an exam this week.
"It's going to be bittersweet," she said of graduation.
"I'm happy for the school part to be over with. That was such a huge four years of my life and I grew so much as a person and a player. I have so many good memories and great friends. I'm so happy and proud to be able to graduate from the university.
"But I'm going to be so sad leaving it."
Lavelle, a first-team All-American, is four weeks into her first season in the pros. She used the word "weird" to describe her transformation from student-athlete to employee.
"It doesn't really seem like a job," she said.
First career #USWNT goal a few weeks ago, first career @NWSL goal today! ???? April has been good for @roselavelle.
— U.S. Soccer WNT (@ussoccer_wnt) April 29, 2017
Lavelle said going to UW and playing for the Badgers created all sorts of changes in her life.
"There's so much," she said when asked to identify just one. "I became a lot more independent, going out and doing things on my own. At the same time, I learned the value of the relationships I've made."
In her quest to become a front-line player for the U.S. national team, Lavelle has become a role model to young fans. What advice would she give those who ask about following in her footsteps?
"I would say just don't take anything for granted," Lavelle said. "You walk in as a freshman and think you have four long years ahead of you, but it goes by in the blink of an eye. A lot of people don't realize that until it's too late. I wish I would have realized that a lot sooner.
"I really don't think I realized how much I love Madison until I left it."
JOEL RUMPEL
"Take it all in. Sit back and relax sometimes and appreciate what you have there."
Rumpel played four memorable seasons with the Wisconsin men's hockey team from 2011 to '15. He wishes he would have redshirted somewhere along the line so he could have lived a fifth year in Madison.
"It's first-class everywhere," he said of the six-time NCAA championship program and the world-class academic curriculum. "It's a pretty special place to be and I'm pretty fortunate to have lived there and played there."
Rumpel is so enamored with the place that he's making the trip from Swift Current, Saskatchewan, this week to attend graduation.
Why go to all that expense and trouble?
"It's a combination of that I haven't been to Madison since last summer and I'm close with a lot of the guys," Rumpel said, mentioning former teammates Grant Besse, Tim Davison and Corbin McGuire.
"And Madison in general. It holds a special place in your heart. It's a place you always want to go back to, so anytime there's even a tiny excuse, you take it."
Rumpel, one of the most prolific goaltenders in UW history, embarked on a pro career before he finished all of his degree requirements in personal finance.
He needed to complete an internship in the investment field. That opportunity didn't come up until the 2016-17 season when Rumpel played for Cincinnati of the East Coast Hockey League.
Because he played most of the season with the Cyclones, Rumpel was able to commit to the arrangement with Evergreen Advisors in nearby Covington, Kentucky.
"For two years it's been weighing on me," he said. "I finally got the right opportunity where I could get it done.
"When I (attend graduation) I'll feel like all that hard work over four years has finally paid off."
"At the end of the day, I'm happy that I was able to be a Badger" Proud of our Badgers becoming UWGrad this week.
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) May 10, 2017
During his career with the Badgers, Rumpel saw the best of times (WCHA and Big Ten tournament championships as a sophomore and junior) and the worst (four wins in 35 games as a senior).
Off the ice, Rumpel became heavily involved in civic causes as part of the Badgers Give Back program.
"It's a community that helps you grow as a human," he said.
During his pro career, Rumpel has bounced between leagues, cities and time zones. He doesn't know how long he'll keep playing or where, but he'll get something Saturday that will ease his mind.
"It's nice to have a degree from an amazing school like Wisconsin that's held in high regard," he said.
