If you go ...
• What: Brat sale to meet Mad Dawg players, learn more about the effort to bring a semi-pro football team, and cast a ballot for the team name
• Where: Piggly Wiggly brat stand in Monroe
• Where: 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday
By Times staff
MONROE - Are you ready for some semi-pro football in Monroe?
Plans are underway to bring a semi-pro football team to Green County next summer. The team would be a sister team to the Madison Mad Dawgs, according to Mad Dawgs owner Fredrick Jackson, Janesville.
"We want to expand the program," Jackson said, and "Monroe seems to be the ideal spot."
The Mad Dawgs play in the Northern Lights Football League, which includes teams in Brown County, Milwaukee and Janesville.
The Mad Dawgs board of directors is looking at the logistics of getting a team going here, including a field location, Jackson said. The board would launch the sister program, and then create a separate board of directors to oversee the Green County team.
The goal is to have the program ready to go for the 2015 season. The 10-game season runs May through August.
Jackson said the maximum roster is 52 players. The minimum age is 18. Those who have graduated from high school but are under 18 may play with parental approval.
The goal of the team is "to give high school athletes an opportunity to play on," Jackson said.
"Too often, in high school, the coach places you where he wants to place you," he said. This can lead to players getting overlooked; a semi-pro team can give players a chance to continue playing the sport they love.
Jackson pointed to one Madison player as a case in point. The player is 49 and always wanted to play. "He turned out to be a force to be reckoned with," Jackson said.
Mad Dawg players will be in Monroe all day Saturday, selling brats at the Piggly Wiggly stand to help spread the word about a Green County team and begin generating some revenue for the effort.
The team is yet unnamed, and Jackson is seeking community input. Under consideration is: Green County Outlaws; Green County Hornets; or the Green County Grizzlies. Jackson encouraged people to visit the brat stand and cast a ballot for their favorite name.
For more information, call Jackson at 608-239-6885.
MONROE - Are you ready for some semi-pro football in Monroe?
Plans are underway to bring a semi-pro football team to Green County next summer. The team would be a sister team to the Madison Mad Dawgs, according to Mad Dawgs owner Fredrick Jackson, Janesville.
"We want to expand the program," Jackson said, and "Monroe seems to be the ideal spot."
The Mad Dawgs play in the Northern Lights Football League, which includes teams in Brown County, Milwaukee and Janesville.
The Mad Dawgs board of directors is looking at the logistics of getting a team going here, including a field location, Jackson said. The board would launch the sister program, and then create a separate board of directors to oversee the Green County team.
The goal is to have the program ready to go for the 2015 season. The 10-game season runs May through August.
Jackson said the maximum roster is 52 players. The minimum age is 18. Those who have graduated from high school but are under 18 may play with parental approval.
The goal of the team is "to give high school athletes an opportunity to play on," Jackson said.
"Too often, in high school, the coach places you where he wants to place you," he said. This can lead to players getting overlooked; a semi-pro team can give players a chance to continue playing the sport they love.
Jackson pointed to one Madison player as a case in point. The player is 49 and always wanted to play. "He turned out to be a force to be reckoned with," Jackson said.
Mad Dawg players will be in Monroe all day Saturday, selling brats at the Piggly Wiggly stand to help spread the word about a Green County team and begin generating some revenue for the effort.
The team is yet unnamed, and Jackson is seeking community input. Under consideration is: Green County Outlaws; Green County Hornets; or the Green County Grizzlies. Jackson encouraged people to visit the brat stand and cast a ballot for their favorite name.
For more information, call Jackson at 608-239-6885.