Bringing the Big Ten Conference women's rowing championships to Devil's Lake State Park on Sunday is the culmination of years of wishing, hoping and planning on the part of University of Wisconsin officials.
The wishing and hoping started with the idea from Badgers women's coach Bebe Bryans and men's coach Chris Clark that Wisconsin could offer a high-level racecourse worthy of holding major events.
The planning since UW last year won the right to host the Big Ten regatta on the cliff-lined lake near Baraboo has been in the hands of an event management team that's used to putting on major outings like home football games and the Crazylegs Classic.