University website tracks the Badger experience in Pasadena

A new, interactive website will follow the Badger faithful as they trek to southern California for the 2011 Rose Bowl — and connect with those who cheer the Badgers at home, wherever they are.

The site — http://rosebowl.wisc.edu/ — provides a window into the Rose Bowl experience and offers fans a chance to post and view photographs either from southern California or from pre-game and game-watching events around the world.

Fans can also pinpoint on a world map where in the world they’ll be watching the New Year’s Day game. Blog posts from southern California, including video and photos, will help to capture the moments that go into making a trip to Pasadena special.

Rosebowl.wisc.edu also captures the social networking experience by capturing and sharing Rose Bowl-related Twitter posts. Twitter posters are being encouraged to use the hashtag #rosebowlUW. The site also links to team news posted by the Athletic Department and by the Wisconsin Alumni Association on their Rose Bowl sites.

“Rosebowl.wisc.edu offers fans a glimpse into the events, the people and the fun that are all part of the Rose Bowl experience,” says Dennis Chaptman, director of news and media relations at University Communications. “We’ll have people on the ground providing stories from Pasadena and Badger fans everywhere contributing content through Twitter, by submitting photos and using the interactive map.”

The site will also track the progress of selected groups of students making road trips to the game beginning on Dec. 28.

A team of University Communications staff, led by Nick Weaver with help from Julie Olsen Schroeder and Darrell Schulte, built the site and a variety of writers and photographers will contribute to it during the run-up to the Badgers’ game against Texas Christian University on Jan. 1.