Fall practice kicks off in just a few weeks for the Badgers, but the annual kickoff to the season starts Thursday as the Badgers head to Chicago for Big Ten Media Days. Below you will find all the info you need to follow along and enjoy the event with us!

2019 Big Ten Football Media Days Preview

When: Thursday, July 18th & Friday, July 19th

Where: Hilton Hotel, Chicago, Ill.

How to Follow

TV: Coverage is live on the Big Ten Network

Stream: Full coverage can be streamed via computer, tablet, or any mobile device via Fox Sports App

Twitter: I’ll be on site for the event so follow along for news, updates, and quotes from both the B5Q account as well as @TylerLHunt.

Schedule of Events

Thursday, July 18th

(Editor’s note: All times have been translated to Central Time from Eastern because Tyler loves you.)

11:15 a.m. – 12 p.m. Press Conferences for Big Ten and BTN

Jim Delany, Big Ten Commissioner 11:15 – 11:45 a.m.

Francois McGillicuddy, BTN President 11:45 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.

12 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Press Conference with Coaches

Scott Frost, Nebraska 12:00 – 12:15 p.m.

Lovie Smith, Illinois 12:15 – 12:30 p.m.

Mark Dantonio, Michigan State 12:30 – 12:45 p.m.

Tom Allen, Indiana 12:45 – 1:00 p.m.

P.J. Fleck, Minnesota 1:00 – 1:15 p.m.

Michael Locksley, Maryland 1:15 – 1:30 p.m.

Ryan Day, Ohio State 1:30 – 1:45 p.m.

2 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Individual Podiums for Players and Coaches

MSU Students 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

NEB Coach 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.

OSU Coach 2:15 – 3:15 p.m.

IND Coach 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

MD Coach 2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

NEB Students 2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

ILL Coach 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

ILL Students 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

MSU Coach 3:00 – 4:00 p.m.

MINN Coach 3:15 – 4:15 p.m.

ND Students 3:45 – 4:45 p.m.

MINN Students 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

MD Students 4:15 – 5:15 p.m.

OSU Students 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

Friday, July 19th

8 a.m. – 10 a.m. Press Conference with Coaches

Kirk Ferentz, Iowa 8:00 – 8:15 a.m.

Jeff Brohm, Purdue 8:15 – 8:30 a.m.

James Franklin, Penn State 8:30 – 8:45 a.m.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern 8:45 – 9:00 a.m.

Paul Chryst, Wisconsin 9:00 – 9:15 a.m.

Chris Ash, Rutgers 9:15 – 9:30 a.m.

Jim Harbaugh, Michigan 9:30 – 9:45 a.m.

Bill Carollo, Big Ten Conference 9:45 – 10:00 a.m.

2:15 p.m. – 6 p.m. Individual Podiums

IOWA Students 2:15 – 3:15 p.m.

MICH Coach 2:15 – 3:15 p.m.

IOWA Coach 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

WIS Students 2:30 – 3:30 p.m.

RU Coach 2:45 – 3:45 p.m.

RU Students 3:15 – 4:15 p.m.

PSU Coach 3:30 – 4:30 p.m.

PUR Coach 3:45 – 4:45 p.m.

PSU Students 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

MICH Students 4:00 – 5:00 p.m.

WIS Coach 4:15 – 5:15 p.m.

PUR Students 4:30 – 5:30 p.m.

NU Coach 4:45 – 5:45 p.m.

NU Students 5:00 – 6:00 p.m

As mentioned above, the bulk of Wisconsin’s time will be on Friday with Coach Chryst taking the stage at 9:00 in the morning for his formal address and again in the afternoon at 4:15-5:15 for a question and answer portion. Wisconsin will also have Jonathan Taylor, Tyler Biadasz, and Chris Orr available for questions from 2:30-3:30 on Friday afternoon.

What to Watch for

Where does Jonathan Taylor go from here?

Jonathan Taylor followed up his incredible freshman season with an even better sophomore season. The question I will be most interested to hear an answer to is A) where does Taylor go from here, and how does he follow up a Doak Walker winning season? and B) How opposing teams will try and slow him down knowing full well Taylor is the most dominating player in the conference?

Is this the Year for Michigan and Nebraska?

With Urban Meyer “retired” the spotlight of polarizing coaches switches to that of Jim Harbaugh and Scott Frost. Each coach is well known and has had a lot of success in their previous stints. Now, each team is getting a lot of preseason hype to be the teams that possibly square off in the Big Ten Title Game. Is the attention warranted or will teams notorious for underachieving fall victim to high expectations again?

Strength of the Big Ten West

In past seasons the Big Ten East has gotten a bulk of the hype, and rightfully so. However in 2019 the Big Ten West looks to be as deep as its been in quite some time. Wisconsin, Nebraska, and Iowa all expect to contend for the West Division Crown. The likes of Northwestern, Minnesota, and Purdue think they have enough to contend as well. Then you have Illinois...well, maybe not. Regardless, the Big Ten West is deep and talented this year, and it will be interesting to see what the coaches and players think of their division’s depth.

Final Thoughts

The event should be a fun one with plenty to talk about come Friday evening. We hope you follow along with us here at B5Q both during the event and after as we continue to bring you all the Badgers and Big Ten content you could want. If you have any reasonable questions you want answered, be sure to hit us up on Twitter and we’ll try to make it happen!