Who does the Wisconsin band think it is? Stanford?
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The University of Wisconsin has put its marching band on probation after receiving reports of severe misconduct during a trip to Michigan last month.
The school is not releasing details on what happened during the trip to the Sept. 23 game. But Chancellor John Wiley described it in a letter to the band's director as behavior "that can be seen as anything from boorish and offensive to patently dangerous and unlawful."
Wiley warned in the letter he would consider suspending activities and travel of the band or replacing its leadership if there were more reports of "gratuitous vulgarity, sexualized banter or joking, hazing, or other forms of demeaning conduct."
"I say this, you know, because I do not feel I have a choice: we either solve the problem now, and the band you have built to such legendary proportions survives, or we look at virtual extinction for a significant period of time," Wiley warned in the letter to band director Michael Leckrone.
Casey Nagy, Wiley's top aide, said the behaviors in question violated the band's code of conduct and were repeated despite previous warnings from the administration. He said some of the reports were from the bus trip home from Ann Arbor, Mich.
"If these behaviors recur, they are immediately at risk of losing travel to any postseason competition," Nagy said.
In an unrelated story -- or it is? -- it's been determined that Wisconsin has one of the highest rates of alcohol use in the nation, according to the state's department of health and family services.
And there's this story about how binge drinking led to the death of a Wisconsin-La Crosse student during their annual Oktoberfest celebration. The kid had a .32 blood-alcohol content -- about four times the legal limit.
Whadda say we all have a brat and a brew and we'll discuss the matter at a time that's convenient for everyone.