Wisconsin Badgers Football Practice 2026 - Photo by Wisconsin Badgers/UW-Athletics
MADISON, WI (WSAU) – One of the University of Wisconsin’s most prominent alumni is assisting the school in raising funds for its name, image, and likeness fund to restore the football program to its winning ways.
According to a video posted on his X account, Dan “Big Cat” Katz, a popular Barstool Sports personality and host of the “Pardon My Take” podcast, has purchased 50 Badgers football season tickets that will be given away to fans who donate $50 or more to the Wisconsin NIL fund by Thursday, August 27th.
Katz earned a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2007 and made headlines last fall when he openly encouraged fellow alumnus Colin Huang to donate to the NIL fund. Huang received his Master of Science degree from UW-Madison in 2004 and created and was the previous CEO of the e-commerce company Pinduoduo, which owns the online marketplace Temu.
Huang is ranked as the 76th richest person in the world by Forbes, with a net worth of $31.1 billion; for a time, Huang was the wealthiest person in China.
In 2026, fielding a competitive college football team necessitates a considerable NIL investment, with Power Four teams reportedly spending between $20 million and over $50 million on their players. In April of this year, Governor Tony Evers signed a bill that provided $14.6 million per year in taxpayer funds to cover athletic facility debt service, freeing up university funding for programs such as NIL.
To win the tickets, fans can donate and apply with the links provided: Support the Badgers and Big Cat Giveaway
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