Badger State Games of the games. The Wisconsin Amateur Sports Corporation, a non-profit organization, began organizing the first edition of the Badger State Games in 1984. The plan was closely associated with Madison's bid for the 1987 National Sports Festival, which was ultimately awarded to Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. The inaugural Badger State Games were held in Madison in 1985, with ceremonies including an Olympic-style torch relay that circled the state over the course of two weeks. Wisconsin became the sixteenth state to hold a statewide multi-sport event, with the National Congress of State Games created in 1988 to serve as their governing body.
Badger Boys State its program now requires a full-time volunteer staff of over one hundred people, plus a part-time special lecture staff of 45. Attendance has grown from 484 in 1939 to an all-time high of 1,066 in 1982. Ripon College was forced to place some restrictions on space in the late 1980s whereby total citizen attendance is restricted to 973 per session. Many Badger Boys State graduates serve public office or work in business, the professions, industry, and the armed forces. First Day - SATURDAY, June 21 - Registration • Election of Ward/City, and County Committeeman • Party Caucuses, city and county.