Tradition Tuesday: How ‘Jump Around’ became synonymous with Wisconsin football

Welcome to Tradition Tuesday, a weekly look at the iconic rituals, traditions and moments that make college football game days so special. Today, we’re heading to Madison for one of the sport’s most recognizable traditions: “Jump Around” at Wisconsin’s Camp Randall Stadium.

There are college football traditions that are loud, traditions that are colorful and traditions that you have to see to believe.

Then there’s Wisconsin’s “Jump Around,” which combines all three.

For a few minutes on game day, Camp Randall Stadium feels like one enormous, bouncing crowd. Fans who may spend the rest of the day debating play calls, cheering touchdowns or groaning at missed opportunities are suddenly doing the same thing — jumping in unison as the song blares through the stadium.

And that’s what makes “Jump Around” so distinctive: It doesn’t need Camp Randall to bring a crowd together. The tradition was on full display during Wisconsin’s season opener against Notre Dame at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field.

That simplicity is part of the appeal. Whether you’re a student seeing it for the first time, a longtime season-ticket holder or someone who just happened to get caught up in the moment, the instructions are pretty simple: When the song comes on, you jump.

The sight of thousands of fans moving in unison is instantly recognizable, and the anticipation leading into the song can be nearly as fun as the jumping itself.

It’s a tradition that has become impossible to separate from Wisconsin football — and one that has grown far beyond Camp Randall.

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The tradition

“Jump Around” became a Wisconsin tradition on Oct. 10, 1998, when House of Pain’s song was played between the third and fourth quarters against Purdue. The crowd immediately began jumping, turning an experiment into an enduring ritual.
The tradition takes place after the third quarter of every Badgers home game at Camp Randall. When the song begins, more than 70,000 fans rise and jump together, creating a synchronized celebration that has become synonymous with Wisconsin football.
The idea came from Ryan Sondrup, an injured tight end and UW Athletics marketing intern. While helping select game-day music, Sondrup noticed the reaction “Jump Around” generated at a Madison bar and pushed to bring the song into Camp Randall.
It has grown beyond a decades-old song played during a break in the game. It is a shared ritual connecting generations of Badgers fans, while the collective jumping has become one of the most recognizable sights and sounds in college football.
The tradition was briefly paused in 2003 during Camp Randall renovations. After an engineering study determined the jumping posed no structural risk, “Jump Around” returned — and remains one of college football’s signature traditions.