Wisconsin football took on Minnesota in an annual rivalry Sunday where a number of students received citations or were ejected from the game at Camp Randall.
According to University of Wisconsin Police Department (UWPD) game day statistics, 11 students were ejected for underage drinking, four for possession of alcohol in the stadium and one for disposing of human waste. Additionally, three were ejected for seating issues, four for intoxication, 18 for possession of alcohol, one for tobacco possession and 12 for disorderly behavior. None of the ejections involved citations.
In total, UWPD gave out 16 citations, nine of which went to UW-Madison students. There were nine students arrested with a total of 16 arrests and 54 ejections — half of which were UW students. UWPD also documented 10 paramedic calls, two ambulance conveyances, 12 first aid calls, zero detox conveyances and three individuals contacted with .20 BAC or higher.
These numbers mark a decrease compared to the beginning of the year. On Sept. 10, when Wisconsin took on Washington State, there were nearly twice as many students cited and arrested — although the number of ejections did increase from September. This past game featured fewer paramedic calls, less than half as many first aid calls, fewer detox conveyances and half as many people with .20 BAC or higher.
In a statement to the Daily Cardinal, UWPD Executive Director of Communications Marc Lovicott said “nothing really sticks out” about Saturday’s statistics.
“The stats from Saturday are in line with previous games,” Lovicott said. “The most significant issue we deal with each game day is alcohol use and overconsumption — that was true for Saturday's game as well.”
This comes in the state with the highest rate of adult binge drinking, with an estimated 24.1% to 27.7% of Wisconsin adults engaging in binge drinking compared to the national average of approximately 16%. Additionally, Wisconsin is one of the highest-ranking states for underage drinking — in both frequency and intensity.
Nonetheless, UWPD rounded out the football season with fewer citations, arrests, paramedic calls, first aid calls, detox conveyances, and people with BAC levels over .20. This marks a positive development for a safe and healthy campus community.
