a leading producer of Fulbright Scholars and MacArthur Fellows. The Wisconsin Badgers compete in 25 intercollegiate sports in NCAA Division I, primarily in the Big Ten Conference, and have won 31 national championships. Wisconsin students and alumni have won 50 Olympic medals (including 13 gold medals).
== History ==
=== Establishment ===
The university had its official beginnings when the Wisconsin Territorial Legislature in its 1838 session passed a law incorporating a "University of the Territory of Wisconsin", and a high-ranking board of visitors was appointed. However, this body (the predecessor of the UW board of regents) never actually accomplished anything before Wisconsin was incorporated as a state in 1848.
The Wisconsin Constitution provided for "the establishment of a state university, at or near the seat of state government..." and directed by the state legislature to be governed by a board of regents and administered by a chancellor. On July 26, 1848, Nelson Dewey, Wisconsin's first governor, …
