And while a victory over the undefeated Buckeyes would no doubt boost the Badgers' football profile, the attention leading up to the game provides a priceless benefit to the university, he said.
"When I was in athletics I talked the talk about how athletics can serve as a gateway for a great university," Sweeney said. "Because of the popularity of college athletics, that maybe we can bring people to focus on the University of Wisconsin. Once they look under the hood, we can lead people to this great institution.
"Now that I'm in a different chair with a different viewpoint, I believe that more than ever. This institution is in a competitive situation to reach out and attract and maintain the best faculty in the world and the best and brightest students. We're competing for research dollars and competing for public dollars and competing for private support and athletics can help in that competition. I believe it even more strongly than I did before, that athletics can help advance the institution."
