For these multigenerational Badger families, UW–Madison is a beloved tradition
Badger families come in all sizes — some of them super-sized. In honor of the University of Wisconsin’s 175th anniversary, here are five families whose love for UW–Madison cannot be questioned. Their Badger ties span generations — sometimes centuries — and they rarely pass up an opportunity to incorporate their alma mater in their family celebrations.
The Brochtrups
Twenty-seven Brochtrup Badgers gathered in a gym in Reedsville, Wisconsin, for this “W” photo several years ago. The number of Brochtrup Badgers has now soared to 39.
So many Brochtrups have attended UW–Madison that family members are kicking themselves for not investing in nearby real estate. “We should have bought a house down there years ago,” says Tammie (Brochtrup) Warzecha ’89, MS’91 of Portage, Wisconsin. Her parents, Ken and Bernice Brochtrup, of Reedsville, Wisconsin, had nine children attend UW. “Jeff went first, then Gary. They were having such a good time that the rest of us decided we wanted some of that, too,” Warzecha says. The nine siblings, in order of graduation: Jeff ’80, MS’83; Gary ’82; Kathy Audino ’84; Mary Gilsdorf ’85; Jay ’87; Tammie; Mark ’92; Scott ’96; and Craig ’01. Several of them added Badger spouses: Jeff married Barbara Brooks Brochtrup ’85; Kathy married Christopher Audino ’86; and Tammie married Charles Warzecha ’88, MS’90.
In time, the first-generation Badger Brochtrups brought forth a second generation and 26 more Badger children and spouses, for a total of 39 Badgers since 1976. That includes Andrew Brochtrup x’26, a current sophomore. Every Brochtrup wedding reception includes the singing of “Varsity.” “Everyone gathers around in one big circle — and not just alumni, everybody takes part,” says Mary Gilsdorf of Reedsville. Choosing a spouse from outside the Badgersphere is allowed but dicey. “If someone brings home a rival, they get picked on,” Warzecha says.
The Higginbottoms
Elzie Higginbottom, fourth from left, was inducted into Alumni Park in 2022. Joining him were, left to right, children William, Caroline and Parker, wife Deborah and son Carter. Photo By: Ilana Natasha
Elzie Higginbottom ‘65 was a high school track standout from suburban Chicago when UW–Madison came calling. He was heavily recruited by many universities, but a tour of the Madison campus won him over. He’s never looked back. “I had an excellent experience there,” says Higginbottom, who won Big Ten indoor titles and held UW–Madison records in the indoor and outdoor 440-yard dash for more than twenty years. In 1983, Higginbottom founded Chicago-based East Lake Management & Development Corp., now one of the largest real estate companies in Illinois. When his four children became college-aged, he hoped they’d consider UW, but he took a light approach. “I was careful. I didn’t want them to feel I was pushing it on them,” he says.
He ended up going three for four (only his daughter attended elsewhere). Sons William ’20, Carter ’22, and Parker x’25 followed in their father’s footsteps. “I’m over the moon about it,” says Higginbottom, who remains highly involved at his alma mater. He serves on the board of the UW Foundation and endowed the directorship for the Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement.
The Schellins
Three generations of Schellin Badgers gathered on New Year’s Day this year to watch the Rose Bowl, a Schellin family tradition for more than 70 years.
New Year’s Day for the Schellin family unfolded this year much like it had for the prior seven-plus decades — with a Badgers-infused Rose Bowl party. The hosts this year were Ed Schellin ’68 and his wife Pat of Columbus, Wisconsin. “Sometimes the Badgers are in the Rose Bowl, sometimes they’re not, but it’s always jubilant,” says Ed Schellin, a retired municipal judge and former Badger Spirit Squad member. Their son is former Bucky mascot Jeremy Schellin ’05. The Rose Bowl tradition dates to 1950 and Ed Schellin’s parents, Ervin Schellin ’33, who taught civil engineering at UW, and Bernice (Kraemer) Schellin, also a UW student. They hosted the initial gathering for a very practical reason: They were the only ones among four Badger families who owned a TV (a 10-inch black-and-white).
Ervin and Bernice had three children, all UW graduates. “My brothers and I kind of grew up on the Madison campus,” says Laurelyn Schellin ’61, MA’62, who taught English at UW and is president of the UW alumni chapter she started in Salem, Oregon, two decades ago. Older brother Steven Schellin ’64, MS’71 was UW’s first nuclear engineering graduate, and his wife Peg (Nelson) Schellin began her undergraduate degree at UW. The family’s Badger history began with Joseph Schwada 1911, a great-uncle of the three Schellin siblings who taught civil engineering at UW and served for most of his career as Milwaukee’s city engineer.
The Riveras
A small subset of the Rivera family at a Badgers tailgating party last fall.
Nobody tailgates like the Riveras. For nearly two decades, the family has been a pre-game fixture near Camp Randall. Sometimes the gathering grows to more than 100 people. “If you’re friends with the Riveras, you’re automatically invited,” says Maria Rivera x’24, an animal and veterinary biosciences major from suburban Chicago. A Rivera tailgate is known for its lively salsa music and an expansive array of grilled meats, she says. Her grandparents, Fernando and Rosalia Rivera, immigrated to the U.S. from Colombia. Fernando was for many years the janitor for Holy Redeemer Church and School in Madison. The couple had six children — three boys and three girls — all UW graduates: Rosalia Boerke ‘86 MS‘92; Victoria Ojeña Brennan ’88; Carmen Elisa Reamer ‘88 MS‘92; Fernando Rivera Jr. ’92; Alejandro Rivera ‘94; and Eduardo Rivera ’94. The six siblings had 21 children. One already has graduated from UW, Angela Boerke ’17 MS’23. Two more will graduate this year, Maria Rivera and Isabella Rivera x’24, and two more will graduate soon, Gabriela Rivera x’26 and Eduardo Rivera Jr. x ‘27.
So many of the cousins now attend UW that they have formed their own recreational volleyball team. “You can feel our grandparents in all of us,” Maria Rivera says. “They would love that we were all achieving this together in Madison and that we are all so close.”
The Olk-Lupinis
Pictured at the Olk-Lupini wedding are Doug and Marilyn Olk and newlyweds Rachel and Matthew Lupini.
Last August, Dr. Doug Olk MD’83 and his daughter Rachel Lupini ’16 needed a song for the traditional father-daughter dance at Rachel’s wedding. They figured people probably had heard “Landslide” and “What a Wonderful World” enough. “Then it hit us, why not ‘Jump Around?’” says Olk, a Madison physician. It made perfect sense. The husband-to-be, Matthew Lupini ’16, and most of the 110 guests at the Madison wedding also were Badgers, and Doug Olk’s family has a long Badger history, including parents James Olk ’48 and Bernice (Durben) Olk ’49 and brothers Stephen Olk ’79 and William Olk MA’88.
Father and daughter lead wedding guests in “Jump Around.”
For the bride, the song evokes a cherished part of Badger gameday. “You just can’t wait for ‘Jump Around’ to happen — everyone is hanging on to each other, and you feel the bleachers swaying back and forth,” says Lupini, a pathologist assistant in suburban Philadelphia who met her husband-to-be as a sophomore on the same Liz Waters dorm floor. The song choice turned out to be a huge hit. “When the intro started, everyone was cheering like it was a football game,” Olk says. “It was complete pandemonium.”
