Roys Right on Bucky Bailout

I emailed my State Senator, Kelda Roys, this morning to thank her for her vote the other day against Assembly Bill 1034, the Bucky bailout bill. I got a reply a little while later and, while it was a form reply, I thought it was excellent, so I’m going to share it with you here.

Roys says that the bill was unpopular with her constituents — which includes a lot of professors and university employees — and that doesn’t surprise me. Like me, they’d like to see the legislature be as quick to fund actual education as they are to subsidize athletics.

But no doubt Roys, who represents the UW flagship campus, also got lots of pressure from the Athletic Department heavy hitters and probably from Bascom Hall itself to support the bill. So give her added credit for standing up to that.

I haven’t picked a horse yet in the Democratic gubernatorial primary, in which Roys is a contestant. My sole criteria is the ability to win in November. But Roys got a bunch of points in my book for this vote.

Here’s what she wrote:

March 19, 2026

Greetings,

Thank you for contacting me about Assembly Bill (AB) 1034/Senate Bill (SB) 1075. I am grateful for your time and willingness to share your thoughts with me. 

While I wholeheartedly support UW, including the athletics program, after careful consideration, I voted against this bill. My constituents were overwhelmingly against this legislation, raising concerns about financial priorities, UW athletics decision-making, transparency, and other issues. 

For years under GOP leadership, we have watched Republicans refuse to adequately fund UW academics or give UW the ability to manage their own affairs. We have also seen them impose gratuitous budget cuts and starve local governments of the aid necessary to provide essential public services. With that in mind, it is difficult to reconcile supporting a nearly $15 million investment for the purpose of paying high-profile student athletes in the football program, especially when my Republican colleagues refused to allocate needed cost-of-living increases to UW academics in the recent budget. 

I recognize the significant economic and cultural value of UW athletics to our state, which is why I support providing UW with bonding authority and more financial independence to help bolster this program and the University as a whole.

The bill narrowly passed the senate, and passed the Assembly with only one legislator (Rep. Knodl) voting against it. My understanding is that Gov. Evers intends to sign the bill. If you would like to receive updates on AB1034/SB1075, please sign up here https://notify.legis.wisconsin.gov/ or contact my office for assistance. 

Thank you again for sharing your thoughts; your voice is a much-needed part of our work and our democracy, and we are here to listen. Please reach out anytime on this or any other issue of concern to you.

Forward,

Kelda Roys

State Senator

26th District