We are thrilled to share that Badger Inquiry on Sport (BIOS) was featured in the UW School of Education Magazine and On Wisconsin — a recognition of the groundbreaking work happening at the intersection of sport, science, and leadership right here at UW–Madison.
The feature, written by Laurel White and published August 8, 2025, opens with a story that captures exactly why BIOS exists: Buffalo Bills offensive lineman David Edwards — a former Badger — texted BIOS Director Peter Miller after the AFC Championship game looking for scholarly research on how players mentally frame pressure. High-level athletes and leaders are hungry for this work, and BIOS is answering the call.
The Wisconsin Coaching Project is front and center in the feature. Led by Professor Sara Jimenez Soffa, the project uses social capital theory to understand how great coaches build connection — the kind that makes a team more than the sum of its parts. The article highlights coaches like Marques Flowers of Vel Phillips Memorial High School in Madison, and BIOS doctoral student Landry Levinson, who spent a season embedded with the Badger women’s hockey team under the legendary Mark Johnson. Levinson was rinkside when the Badgers won their 2025 national championship — a moment that brought the research to life in real time.
The piece also spotlights the Master’s in Sports Leadership program and the remarkable leaders who have shaped it — from Barry Alvarez, who opened his private coaching journals to help build the curriculum, to Phil Jackson, who has co-taught a coaching course with Miller every week since 2023.
We are proud to be recognized alongside the extraordinary coaches, researchers, and athletes who make this work possible. Leadership matters. Coaching matters. And we are just getting started.