Wisconsin football is well represented in the UW Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2026.
On Thursday, Wisconsin Interim Director of Athletics Marcus Sedberry revealed the 12-person cohort at Camp Randall Stadium. In addition to Bob Bruce (special service), Kelsey Card (track & field), Sam Dekker (basketball), Alan Fish (administration), Janet (Huff) Dyer (basketball), Bob Konovsky (wrestling & football), Sis Paulsen (hockey), Ron Vincent (hockey), Ron Wuensche (golf) and Barbara Urbanska-Lucido (tennis), the loaded class also features football alums Chris Borland and Melvin Gordon.
Gordon, who played at Wisconsin from 2011-14, is arguably the greatest running back to ever lace up for the Badgers. The Kenosha, Wisconsin, product was the Doak Walker Award winner and Heisman Trophy runner-up in 2014, and he left Madison as the No. 2 all-time in rushing yards for a single season behind Barry Sanders.
Gordon also ran for 408 yards against Nebraska on Nov. 15, 2014, to set the FBS single-game rushing record, established the FBS record for career rushing average at 7.79 yards per carry, and became the fastest player in program history to reach 1,000 and 2,000 career rushing yards.
Borland, meanwhile, was recognized as the Nagurski-Woodson Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and Butkus-Fitzgerald Big Ten Linebacker of the Year in 2013 for his contributions at linebacker. During his tenure at UW from 2009-13, he was named first-team All-Big Ten in 2012, Big Ten Freshman of the Year and first-team Freshman All-American in 2009, and set the conference record with 15 career forced fumbles. Borland played in three Rose Bowls for the Badgers before being drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in 2024.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Borland, Gordon headline UW Athletic Hall of Fame Class of 2026
Reporting by Mike Hall, Badgers Wire / Badgers Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
