BADGERS PUT FOOTBALL SPONSORSHIP OUT TO BID

     The "lure of the ubiquitous Nike swoosh" is causing
controversy in "places once thought to be a little more benign
than pro football," according to Michael Hunt of the MILWAUKEE
JOURNAL SENTINEL.  Three officials from the Univ. of Wisconsin
will travel to meet with Nike officials on September 26 and
"discuss a possible partnership between the shoe company and the
esteemed school."  School officials will also meet with
delegations from Reebok and Converse, with each possibly offering
to supply the Badgers with uniforms and a cash payment, probably
somewhere in the $4-$5M range over a period of six or seven
years.  But the plan isn't popular with everybody.  Wisconsin AD
Vince Sweeney said "there's no question it could be
controversial."  With the department "solidly in the black,"
Sweeney says they "may reject all offers if the chancellor's
office and athletic board object" (MILWAUKEE JOURNAL SENTINEL,
9/7).