Before starting her eighth season directing the University of Wisconsin softball team last month, Yvette Healy stopped by athletic director Barry Alvarez's office for a chat.
Healy's Badgers team was looking at a major uptick in the strength of the non-conference schedule, and she equated the landscape with what the UW football team faced in playing four top-10 teams in the first six games of the 2016 season.
Alvarez's response, in Healy's recollection: "Just go make memories. Don't get stressed out. If anything, it's going to help your players."
Still, Healy and her staff tried to prepare players for a schedule that has been the 21st-toughest out of 296 teams, especially after last year's group started the season 21-2.