UW, UCLA reach home-and-home agreement in football - but fans will have to be patient

MADISON – Tuesday provided a good news-bad news moment for Wisconsin football fans hungry to see UW reach home-and-home agreements with other marquee programs.

UW officials announced the Badgers and UCLA had agreed to such an arrangement.

That was the good news.

The bad news? Fans will have to wait a few years for the games.

UW is scheduled to face UCLA in Pasadena, Calif., on Sept. 15, 2029. The Bruins are set to visit Madison on Sept. 7, 2030.

That means the freshmen on UW’s 2029 team are probably in kindergarten or first grade today.

The teams have met 11 times, with UCLA holding a 7-4 edge. 

UW has won the last three meetings, however – the 1994 Rose Bowl, the 1999 Rose Bowl and the 2000 Sun Bowl.

UCLA has won all five meetings at Camp Randall Stadium. The Bruins’ last visit to Madison came on Sept. 18, 1982. UCLA was ranked No. 14 and handed unranked UW a 51-26 defeat. 

“UCLA is one of the premier programs in college football,” UW athletic director Barry Alvarez said in a release. “We had some memorable bowl games when I was on the sidelines but this is a great opportunity for us to play them at Camp Randall. 

“Non-conference scheduling is always a challenge, but the folks at UCLA have been great to deal with and we look forward to the series.”

Meanwhile, one player who won't be able to face the Bruins is UW tight end Troy Fumagalli, a fifth-year senior.

On Tuesday Fumagalli was a second-team pick on The Associated Press' preseason All-American team. Penn State's Mike Gesicki was the first-team pick. 

"He can be truly a complete tight end," UW coach Paul Chryst said when asked about Fumagalli earlier this summer. "You can hold him to the highest standard…I think it is in him.

"I think for us to be a good offense, he’s got to be a really big part of it."