Northland Pines graduate completes stint as Bucky Badger at University of Wisconsin

When Frankie Milanowski took the ice at the Kohl Center in Madison late last month for his reveal as the iconic Bucky Badger, he wasn’t doing it for personal glory. He did it so every future hockey Bucky gets the recognition they deserve.

Milanowski, a 2022 Northland Pines High School graduate, completed his three-year stint as a Bucky Badger during the University of Wisconsin and Michigan men’s hockey game Feb. 21. During the first intermission he skated onto the ice without the Bucky costume and was introduced for the first time as UW student Frankie Milanowski to a cheering crowd of more than 14,000 spectators.

“It really means the world to me to have this sort of recognition to close the curtain on my time as hockey Bucky. All of us Buckys work so hard, sacrifice so much time, and receive very little in terms of recognition and compensation,” said Milanowski, disclosing there are “greater than one and less than 10” Bucky Badgers who attend UW athletic events and community activities throughout a year.

“No Bucky has ever been honored on the ice before, and I made it my goal to change that,” he said. “I didn’t start this initiative to receive all the glory; rather, I did it so that each and every future hockey Bucky who gives of himself to this role and who serves the UW community in such an important way may receive the kind of recognition he deserves.

“Also, in light of Eagle River being the Hockey Capital of Wisconsin, I am super humbled to know that I have done my part to build on that legacy and spread it to a place like UW where the hockey tradition runs strong too,” said Milanowski. “I didn’t even need my name to be announced during Saturday’s recognition, all that matters to me is that they said I am from Eagle River, Wisconsin.”

Becoming Bucky

Milanowski, a senior at UW studying Spanish, legal studies and criminal justice, never dreamed he would be a Bucky Badger.

“Before going to college, my Uncle Nick told me I’d be a great Bucky, and despite being flattered by the notion, I figured I’d be too short at 5-foot-9. So I went to college without ever really considering it until my buddies told me I should try out to be Bucky, and that got the gears turning,” he said.

A short while later, Milanowski was sitting in Union South with friends when all of a sudden Bucky Badger himself came up to them as they were watching the Badgers in the NIT basketball tournament on TV.

“He gave me a business card with the information for tryouts on it, so I had to go,” said Milanowski. “I attended an info meeting and after hearing briefly about what the role entailed, and having been able to observe the antics of the current guys on the team, I knew I had to go for it.”

To become Bucky, Milanowski completed three days of tryouts, including an initial physical test with a push-up competition, as well as role playing, a props station and a dancing station, all on the first day. The second day separated Milanowski from the pack, as it was a skating tryout at La Bahn Arena, with and without the Bucky suit.

“It was surreal to walk in there for the first time. I remember when I was really young, a standout athlete from Northland Pines named Jinelle Zaugg got to play on that ice as a member of one of (the UW national) championship teams; I couldn’t believe I also got to step on such iconic ice.”

The final day of tryouts entailed an original ski with original audio and props.
“After the skit, I sat through a 30-minute interview with the director of the Spirit Squad (Cheer, Dance, Bucky) and about eight other judges, many of whom were athletic department employees and/or former Buckys themselves,” said Milanowski. “I loved the interview. I got to talk about how awesome my hometown of Eagle River is and how proud I was to represent our incredible community at one of the best universities in the world, something I try to do every time I step in the Bucky suit.”

Milanowski said a plethora of involvements at Northland Pines prepared him for his time as Bucky.

“Being on the stage in musical theater productions like Shrek, School of Rock and Fiddler on the Roof taught me so many valuable lessons about character development that translated perfectly into the sort of character learning I have done as Bucky,” he said. “My athletic commitments, predominantly cross country and baseball, also conditioned me as well as they could have for the exhausting endeavor that being Bucky is. Kate Janssen, director of the Northland Pines musicals, once told me that little did I know, my combination of athletics and theatrics had been preparing me for being Buckly all along.”

Busy schedule

Being a Bucky Badger is a huge commitment, according to Milanowski, noting that the UW and Michigan hockey game was his 285th appearance as Bucky Badger.

“Given that my tenure on the team currently spans three years, the math comes out to me doing about two to three appearances per week, be it a sporting event or a community event,” he said. “Bucky is an insane commitment. I dedicate anywhere from 10 to 25 hours a week to related activities, many times exceeding the higher limit in busier times of the year such as homecoming, graduation and different sports seasons.”

As Bucky, Milanowski got a chance to attend all of the sporting events, but he is the main skating Bucky and has done about two-thirds of all the men’s and women’s hockey games over the past three years.

“Since my skating abilities enable me to take so many of the hockey games, I defer to my other Buckys in a lot of the other sporting events such as basketball, wrestling and volleyball, but I still get a few of those games in every year, as well as my fair share of football games at Camp Randall,” said Milanowski. “Though football games are the biggest stage, men’s and women’s hockey will always hold a special place in my heart. Skating in front of thousands of fans in the College Hockey Capital every weekend is an absolute honor.”

Milanowski as Bucky Badger also has been across the country for the UW, such as traveling to Laguna Beach, Calif., and South Carolina for separate commercial shoots, or the time he missed 12 days of school to accompany the basketball team on their games in Salt Lake City, Utah, and San Diego, Calif.

“Though this may seem impossible to juggle on top of classes, I have been blessed to have very understanding professors and bosses in my classes and jobs who are most of the time very excited about all the opportunities I get because of Bucky,” he said. “I obviously value my academics greatly, they never took a backseat to Bucky; however, at times all the Bucky stuff forced me to improvise.”

Family support

Milanowski said his family has been his biggest support crew throughout his journey as Bucky Badger.

“Because of how big of a commitment it is, I haven’t been able to go home to Eagle River as much, or spend as much time with my family in general, even over the holidays. Still, they show constant support for me and are always in my corner,” he said.

During the Michigan hockey game when Milanowski was revealed, his parents, Gary and Martha Milanowski of Eagle River, were in the stands proudly displaying a sign that read “Bucky is our boy!”

“It has been especially neat to have them attend the sporting events that I am Bucky at, most notably, hockey games,” he said. “I think it means a lot to them to see their son having the time of his life while doing something that is so meaningful and of course, really fun.”

Game day antics

For hockey games, Milanowski gets to the rink about an hour prior to the game and checks in with the security people, coaches and players he has developed good friendships with over the years. He then gets into the Bucky suit and does a pregame, preliminary lap around the Kohl Center concourse on his roller guards waving the big motion-W flag.

“This is a great chance to get the fans riled up and also a great way to avoid having to stop for a picture with every single one, and it is a bit hard to stop on the roller guards,” he said.

“After that, I go down to the ice, ditch the guards, and head out with the flag onto the ice for the pregame skate, dancing to the band’s music, interacting with fans behind the glass, and just trying my best to make people laugh, which occasionally involves an intentional tumble,” said Milanowski.

At the 7-minute mark, the band strikes up a rousing “On, Wisconsin!” and Bucky gives fist bumps to all the players as they skate on the ice. After starting lineups and the national anthem, he quickly goes back to the changing room, exchanging the skates for shoes, making his way into the stands, visiting the student section, a million other fans, and on many occasions, friends and family who made it to the game.

“I love starting clapping chants in the student section, getting the whole crowd moving with my rhythmically inclined ways, and also getting ‘em pumped up through other techniques, such as running up and down the stairs in Section 119 where the fans are now accustomed to cheering me on through some comical cardio,” he said.

Eventually, Bucky goes back out onto the ice during the first intermission, then back up into the stands during the second period, and then finally out on the ice one more time to sing “Varsity” and hit Bucky’s signature move at the end of it, a sliding headstand.

“It is the most exhausting, yet most fun three hours I’ve ever had,” concluded Milanowski.

All of those antics were once again orchestrated for UW hockey fans at the Kohl Center, but this time appreciative spectators finally got to see who was under that famous Bucky Badger costume.