An Irish delegation promoting the Aer Lingus College Football Classic visited campus last week, creating connections and collaborative opportunities in advance of next year’s international game.
During Saturday’s Badger football game, members of the Irish delegation presented interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots with their nation’s flag. From left to right: mascot Celtic the Brave; Alan Dillon, Ireland’s minister of state at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment; interim Chancellor Wilcots; and Lord Mayor of Dublin Daryl Barron. Photo: Emma Hansen / UW Athletics
On Aug. 28, 2027, the Badger football team will compete at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland, in the Aer Lingus College Football Classic against the University of Pittsburgh. It will be the program’s second-ever international game, following a trip to Tokyo, Japan, in 1993. For Badger fans who love both football and Irish culture, a dream trip on the official tour awaits. (Tickets are still available!)
But for this promising transatlantic partnership, there was no need to wait until next year. An Irish delegation of government officials, plus industry leaders and Aer Lingus College Football Classic event organizers, visited the University of Wisconsin–Madison last week. They toured the campus, learned about cutting-edge research, met with students, brainstormed with university business engagement staff on collaborative opportunities, and watched the Badger football team dominate Eastern Michigan (watch out, Pitt).
The visit underscored that the Aer Lingus College Football Classic is, as its tagline states, #MuchMoreThanAGame. It’s an opportunity for Ireland and U.S. universities to engage in academic, cultural and business exchange, advance bilateral relations between nations and cement long-lasting ties. Those worthy goals were on full display throughout the Sept. 17-19 visit.
On Friday morning, members of the Irish delegation and visitors representing the Aer Lingus College Football Classic took a student-led trolley tour of the UW–Madison campus. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–MadisonNext was a visit to the UW–Madison Center for Dairy Research, where Director John Lucey spoke about its innovative, solutions-based research program. The center’s industry partners, displayed on the screen above, include the Kerry Group food company, which is headquartered in Ireland and whose representatives were among the group of visitors. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–MadisonWho says learning can’t be fun? Stephen Kavanagh, co-chair of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic Steering Committee, shared a laugh while asking a question about the Wisconsin dairy industry . Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–MadisonThe group then toured the state-of-the-art dairy processing plant in Babcock Hall and sampled its products, including, of course, world-famous cheese curds. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–MadisonEimear Robertson, chief technology officer for Kerry North America, popped in to Food Science 440: Principles of Food Engineering to talk to students about career opportunities in the food science industry. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–MadisonRobertson stayed after class to meet students, including Brian Bernal (above), and discuss their experiences at UW–Madison as well as internship programs at the Kerry Group. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–MadisonAlan Dillon, Ireland’s minister of state at the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, spoke during lunch at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery. Hosted by UW–Madison’s International Division, the lunch focused on the university’s exchange partnerships with Trinity College Dublin and University College Dublin, direct-enroll options and international internship opportunities. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–MadisonPádraig Manning (center right), Ireland’s acting consul general at the Consulate General of Ireland in Chicago, lit up at lunch while exchanging ideas with Frances Vavrus (right), International Division vice provost and dean. Photo: Taylor Wolfram / UW–MadisonAt Union South, David Noyce (right), executive associate dean at the College of Engineering, spoke about transportation of the future and how UW–Madison researchers are working to engineer autonomous systems to enhance quality of life. Photo: Althea Dotzour / UW–MadisonBefore being offered a ride in an autonomous vehicle, the group of visitors learned from Professor Xiaopeng (Shaw) Li about the underlying technology. Photo: Althea Dotzour / UW–MadisonAt Morgridge Hall, Vallabh Sambamurthy (left), dean of the Wisconsin School of Business, led a discussion about the strong innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem at UW–Madison. Photo: Althea Dotzour / UW–MadisonAfterward, the delegation and visitors (including Subin Amarnathan, above, head of talent acquisition at Tate Global) joined breakout sessions with campus officials in the entrepreneurship and business engagement space to discuss collaborative programming opportunities. Photo: Althea Dotzour / UW–MadisonThe last academic stop of the day was at Professor Aaron LeBeau’s research lab — which doubles as a shark tank. The visitors learned how the School of Medicine and Public Health is transforming cancer care from discovery to patient treatment. This includes pioneering research using antibodies from sharks as targeting vectors in models of human cancer. Photo: Althea Dotzour / UW–MadisonThe visitors — including Padraic O’Kane (center), co-founder of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic — had the rare opportunity to feed the sharks. Photo: Althea Dotzour / UW–MadisonAnd don’t worry — the sharks didn’t bite. Photo: Althea Dotzour / UW–MadisonHow do you prepare for your first football game at Camp Randall Stadium? By picking up Badger gear at the University Book Store, of course. Pictured from left to right: Tony Smithers, head of events for the Dublin City Council; Stephen Kavanagh, co-chair of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic Steering Committee; Padraic O’Kane, co-founder of the Football Classic; Bill Byrne, senior vice president of global sales for Aer Lingus; and Mick McAteer, co-chair of the Football Classic Steering Committee. Photo: Althea Dotzour / UW–MadisonOn Friday evening, the group attended the volleyball game at the UW Field House. The Badgers defeated the UW–Milwaukee Panthers in four sets. Photo: Maddie Nissenbaum / UW AthleticsWait, that’s not Bucky Badger. During the UW football game on Saturday, Celtic the Brave, the official mascot of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic, took a turn leading the student section in cheers. Photo: Emma Hansen / UW AthleticsDuring the third quarter, the delegation presented UW interim Chancellor Eric Wilcots with the Irish flag, cementing a long-lasting tie between the nation and university. Photo: Emma Hansen / UW AthleticsThe UW student section, braving the rainy elements, received the bilateral memo. Photo: Nolan Kromke / UW AthleticsWhat better way to cap an international visit to the UW campus than with “Jump Around” — and a 54–10 win — at Camp Randall Stadium? Photo: Emma Hansen / UW Athletics
