Author: Sam Buisman

UW-Madison's athletic uniforms will feature a black “W” throughout this school year as a gesture towards the school's Black community. 

According to a Wednesday afternoon press release from UW Athletics, the crest logo sported by student-athletes and the department at large will present a black “W” rather than the usual white design to signal solidarity and inclusion to UW-Madison's Black community and communities of color. This logo change will apply to all Badger sports teams throughout the 2020-2021 school year. 

UW Athletics Director Barry Alvarez spoke to the value of this change to student-athletes in a press release.

“There is plenty of work to do,” said Alvarez, “but I am pleased we will be able to show our support in a way that is important to our student-athletes.” 

This logo redesign is the latest in a series of anti-racist actions the UW has taken in reaction to the eruption of protests following George Floyd's killing. 

Last Wednesday, Chancellor Rebecca Blank announced a suite of campus policies with similar goals of inclusion and diversification, including pledging $10 million in private fundraising for recruitment of diverse faculty and staff and $1 million in funding for research on race in America. 

Back in June, Alvarez himself released a statement supporting the Black Lives Matter movement and promised to take action to improve the Athletics Department. 

According to the press release, UW Athletics is also designing a black version of the “Motion W” logo to appear on certain uniforms, but it has not yet revealed the design nor announced which teams will wear it.