March Madness and Milk
by Bill Herr
WMMB District 7 Director

As the spring months approach and we begin the ritual of preparing our machinery and our cropland for the planting season, I'm also reminded of another spring ritual here in Wisconsin that involves our young student athletes in communities all over the state. It's called "March Madness," when thousands of fans cheer on their favorite high school teams during exciting tournament games that mark the end of the winter sports season. As a parent, youth basketball coach, dairy farmer and Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board (WMMB) director, I am proud to report that our state's dairy producers have a strong tradition of supporting Wisconsin athletics through our dairy promotion programs.

Dairy nutrition plays a key role in helping our student athletes reach their full potential on the court as well as in the classroom. Each year during the state tournament season, WMMB makes an extra effort to promote the nutritional advantages of milk and dairy products to the citizens of our state who attend or watch the games. We also work hard to make sure that milk is available at all of the high school tournament events that take place at the Kohl Center in Madison. Here are some of the ways we are keeping milk and dairy product messages on the minds of everyone during "March Madness:"

Athletic Program Covers
This year, WMMB is making more than 25,000 game program covers available to the 13 host schools that are involved with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association (WIAA) regional and sectional boys and girls basketball tournaments. The program covers contain colorful graphics that highlight the important impact that our dairy industry has on Wisconsin's economy as well as key facts about dairy nutrition for athletes and their families. Also included is the 2005 WIAA television schedule as well a listing of the stations that will be televising the final tournament games around the state. Thousands of spectators throughout the state will read these messages in their programs as they wait for their favorite teams to take the floor.

Commercials
Fans who watch the WIAA tournaments on television around the state will also see why milk and dairy products are important for everyone in Wisconsin. WMMB-sponsored chocolate milk and cheese commercials will air during the state boys and girls basketball tournaments as well as the state wrestling and hockey championship games. Here is a list of the WIAA Television Network Stations around the state:

• Eagle River – WYOW-TV
• Eau Claire – WQOW-TV
• Green Bay –WACY-TV
• La Crosse – WXOW-TV
• Madison – WKOW-TV
• Milwaukee – WMLW-TV
• Wausau – WAOW-TV 

Milk Signage and Advertisements
If you plan to attend the state tournament games in Madison at the Kohl Center, you will also see plenty of dairy product visibility, including a large "Got Milk" banner sign displayed in front of the scorers' table, a full- page color dairy advertisement in the official program at each state tournament competition, and key dairy messages that will appear on the lighted electronic signs that ring the entire interior of the Kohl Center.

I want to wish all Wisconsin student athletes well as they complete their winter seasons and prepare for the WIAA Tournaments. I also want to remind everyone that milk, cheese and the other quality dairy products made from our Wisconsin-produced milk plays a very important role in not only keeping our state's citizens healthy, but our state's economy strong as well.