Wisconsin Sports Leadership Lab

Sports present a veritable lab for leading. The highest competitive levels are achieved and the most meaningful lessons are learned in concert with sound leadership. BIOS engages sports leadership research at multiple levels, including studies of administrators, executives, coaches, and athletes. Notably, the WCP, our original IRB sanctioned study, examines how coaches and leaders broker connections on and beyond their units. We center social capital theory in our research project, seeking advancements in relational, community-building approaches to leading.

BIOS also examines opportunity in and through sports. Who plays sports…and why? What are the major trends in participation? How can access to sports be cultivated in healthier, more equitable ways? With these types of pipeline questions, we draw from and extend research on youth sports, geographies of sport opportunity, and the life-stories of sport. Pipeline research contributes to deeper understandings of how we can support faster, stronger, healthier, more skilled and more diverse athletes in Wisconsin.

BIOS Verified: Research-Informed Sport Practice

Badger Inquiry on Sport (BIOS) conducts research on athletics and serves as a catalyst for great research and sport in Wisconsin and beyond. Through BIOS Verified, BIOS partners with sports programs across the state to strengthen practice, connect research to the everyday work of coaches and leaders, and build deeper relationships across Wisconsin. What is [...]

Yvette Healy, head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers softball team, energetically addresses her players in a dugout huddle during a game. She is wearing a red Wisconsin visor, sunglasses, and a red vest, surrounded by players in white and red Badgers uniforms.

Leading the Pack: Rebuilding with Purpose with Yvette Healy

Yvette Healy on rebuilding a program with purpose — and why the beginner’s mindset never really goes away.

Leading the Pack: College Sports, Then and Now, with Chris Clark

Chris Clark, Director of Rowing at UW-Madison, on how college athletics has changed over thirty years — and what still matters most.

Pictured is Cassaundra Thorpe. Cassaundra is smiling and wearing a gray scarf.

Leading the Pack: Building Leaders in College Athletics with Cassaundra Thorpe

Cassaundra Thorpe on developing leaders in college athletics — and what it really takes to build a career doing it.

Pictured is Shayla Yon. She is wearing a black shirt and is seated. She is leaning her elbow on a chair. She is sitting down at table. There is a mirror behind her.

Leading the Pack: The Work Behind the Scenes with Shayla Yon

Shayla Yon, Director of Academics & Career at UW-Madison, on the work behind the scenes in college athletics — and how to build a career doing it.

Women's Golf Head Coach, Todd Oehrlein, is wearing a red jacket with a red hat. He is speaking to a player who is wearing a black jacket and a red visor. He is holding a range finder and they are on a golf course. The grass is green and there's brush in the background. There are golf clubs next to Todd.

Leading the Pack: Data, Analytics, and the Art of Coaching with Todd Oehrlein

Todd Oehrlein on data, analytics, and the psychology of performance — and how coaches across every sport can find the right balance.

Picture of Camp Randall and Barry Alverez Field. The stadium is full of fans, mostly in red. The fans are watching a football game.

Register: 2026 BIOS Leadership & Coaching Symposium

Save the date — the 5th Annual BIOS Leadership & Coaching Symposium is June 23, 2026 at Camp Randall Stadium. This year’s theme: Building Culture and Developing Your People.

Three people stand on a football field inside Camp Randall Stadium. From left, Maria Dehnert, Peter Miller, and Sara Jimenez Soffa pose for a photo.

UW BIOS Featured in School of Education and On Wisconsin Magazines

BIOS was featured in the UW School of Education and On Wisconsin magazines — a look at our groundbreaking research on the science of leadership in sport.

Pictured is Alec Ingold, a football player for the Miami Dolphins. He is jumping over an opponent while holding a football. A referee stands in the background with fans in the stands. Photo curtsey of the Miami Dolphins.

NFL Leaders and Captains Cohort

For the second year in a row, Alec Ingold, Co-Captain of the Miami Dolphins and Owner of Inspired Athletics, is partnering with the University of Wisconsin’s Badger Inquiry on Sport (BIOS) Research Lab to offer the Leaders and Captains Cohort — a nine-week online course for NFL players focused on leadership development and life after football.

Paiting in shades of red, white, gray, and gold with the text Pace the heard Model the way Be a Bell Cow

Bell Cow Coaches

What is a bell cow coach? A Bell Cow Coach provides us a model from whom we can learn deeply and meaningfully about coaching. The term “bell cow” is not just a catchy reference to Wisconsin’s proud dairy heritage, but a useful metaphor for leadership. A Bell Cow Coach provides us a model from whom […]