A B5Q farewell

I’ve never written a farewell post, and so I’ve ended up writing and rewriting the intro to this one for far too long now. I decided that process was a futile one, so I’ll cut to the chase.

Seven semesters at the University of Wisconsin, one journalism degree and 20 months of covering the Wisconsin Badgers later, my time at B5Q is coming to an end. Starting in just a couple of weeks, I will be moving to Minnesota to work as a sports reporter for the West Central Tribune in the city of Willmar.

I want to thank so many people for what has been an incredible and enjoyable time writing for Bucky’s 5th Quarter. First, Mike Fiammetta and Jake Kocorowski for first bringing me on board in the spring of 2015 and then handing over the basketball beat to a junior in college who had never covered a team in that capacity before. The Badgers’ media relations staff also made this all possible, credentialing me for not only all home games, but allowing for trips to Indianapolis and St. Louis during the 2016 postseason run. I’ve learned more about writing and journalism from professionals like Jim Polzin and Tom Oates of the Wisconsin State Journal while figuring out how to balance being a student and covering the team alongside Zach Rosen and Nick Osen of Sconnie Sports Talk and Chris Bumbaca of The Badger Herald. Rambling about the Badgers on Garded Optimism with Kyle Ashauer—and actually having people listen in—has been tons of fun. Of course, the rest of the staff at B5Q deserves thanks, as well, for picking up stories when I couldn’t and making the site what it is. My fiancée, Karen, has been the biggest support through everything, and it will be a blast beginning a life in Willmar when she joins in May 2017.

Thanks to you, the B5Q community, for clicking, reading and listening to my content.

I grew up on Wisconsin and Badgers basketball, and so to cover the team as a student was something I could have only dreamed of as a kid. From trying out for the team itself, to being left speechless as Bo Ryan retired a whole nine hours before I had a final exam, to watching Bronson Koenig splash the buzzer beater against Xavier to reach the Sweet Sixteen, I will have stories to tell for a lifetime.

I will be moving to Willmar in the upcoming weeks, and am very excited to start this new chapter in my life. I hope that, in some capacity, you have learned from or enjoyed the content I’ve posted to the site.

There may not have been a great way for me to open up this post, but I know exactly how to close it out: with a haiku.

I’ve loved B5Q

But now it’s off to Willmar

Miss you, Madison