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Greg Gard secures $50k bonus for Wisconsin's NCAA tournament at-large bid

Screen Shot 2024-05-28 at 9.09.17 AMby:Kaiden Smith•03/17/24•

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Kayla Wolf-USA TODAY Sports

Wisconsin may have fallen short in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game on Sunday, losing to Illinois in a 93-87 loss at the Target Center in Minneapolis. But the Badgers will still advance to the NCAA Tournament, earning the No. 5 seed in the South Region and a matchup against James Madison this Friday.

And with Wisconsin’s at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament comes a bonus for Badgers’ head coach Greg Gard. With USA Today’s Steve Berkowitz reporting Sunday that Gard will receive a $50,000 bonus for the at-large bid in this year’s tournament.

The Badgers head into the NCAA Tournament with a 22-13 record, representing the sixth 20-win season for Gard during his tenure in Madison. As Gard has also helped lead Wisconsin to their sixth NCAA Tournament appearance in the ninth season at the helm for the Badgers.

Gard spent seven seasons as an assistant under Bo Ryan before Ryan’s retirement 12 games into the 2015-2016 season. Leading the team to a 15–8 record, a 12–6 record in the Big Ten, and a Sweet 16 appearance as the team’s interim head coach before being named the full time head coach ahead of the 2016-2017 season. The first and only head coaching job of his career thus far.

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He’d follow that with his best season to date for Wisconsin, leading the Badgers to a career-best 27–10 record and a second straight appearance in the Sweet 16. Going on to lead Wisconsin to two Big Ten regular season titles in 2019 and 2021.

Wisconsin would face some adversity last season after missing out on the NCAA Tournament with an 11th-place finish in the Big Ten regular season standings. But this season they bounced back making it back to the NCAA Tournament after a one year hiatus from the dance and the Big Ten Tournament final following a first round loss last season.

Gard’s wallet gets a little bit larger ahead of March Madness, but there’s no doubt that his team will be tested in the very first-round of the NCAA Tournament. As they face a James Madison team that’s one of the few in the country with 30+ wins. Boasting a 30-3 record on the season after winning the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with the No. 9 scoring offense in the nation, averaging 84.4 points per game.

The Badgers and Dukes tip off this Friday at 9:40 p.m. ET in a first-round matchup airing on CBS.