Badger community mourns loss of former hockey, baseball player Rob Andringa

MADISON, Wis. — The Badger community is sadly reflecting on the life of former hockey and baseball player Rob Andringa. The 51-year old died on Friday night, after battling colon cancer for almost three years.

Andringa was born and bred to exude the spirit of a Wisconsin Badger. He was born and raised in Madison, grew up next to the Johnson family and was a stick boy for the Badgers as a child. He was a standout athlete at Memorial High School, and he played both baseball and hockey for the Badgers.

Andringa was a defenseman on the team that won a NCAA Championship at 1990 and served as a captain the year after. He later used his talents and enthusiasm for the program as a broadcaster for his alma mater, paired up with Brian Posick on Fox Sports Wisconsin and Big Ten Network.

Current head coach Tony Granato said Andringa had a “zest for life” and “made you feel like you were his best friend.”

Fellow sports broadcaster Bill Brophy said Andringa’s spirit never dwindled in the years that he fought cancer.

“He wasn’t going to have anyone feel sorry for him,” Brophy said, “and a couple games he worked after he had chemo and you would never it.”

Granato said Andringa was a frequent guest speaker for players, parents and recruits, and there is one speech in particular that stuck with him.

“I’ll refer to that often because he said so many key points,” Granato explained, “about what it meant to be a college athlete, what it meant representing the University of Wisconsin, what it meant to grow up in Madison and what it meant to be a good person.”

Andringa is survived by his wife and three children.