Wisconsin athletic director believes former Badger RB should be NCAA all-time leading rusher

Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh strongly believes Badger legend Ron Dayne should be the NCAA’s all-time rushing leader. He explained his thinking in a recent appearance on WOZN’s Zach Heilprin’s podcast “The Camp.”

The NCAA considers former San Diego State running back Donnel Pumphrey as the career leader in rushing yards with 6,405. The kicker: Dayne’s spectacular outputs in bowl games are not recognized by the NCAA.

The NCAA first recognized bowl statistics in 2002, three years after Dayne departed Madison. If college football’s governing organization were to take this into account, Dayne would have 7,125 yards, more than 500 ahead of Texas’ Ricky Williams.

At 6,397 yards, Dayne lands second on the current list. Williams, UW’s Jonathan Taylor and Pittsburgh’s Tony Dorsett round out the top five.

McIntosh, who was named Wisconsin’s athletic director in July of 2021, started every game of Ron Dayne’s career at left tackle.

Here’s his take on Dayne’s situation:

“I don’t understand the methodology or thinking behind it. The statistics are available to adjust those numbers. Until that were to happen, I think it’s a fair thing for our program to take the position that he’s the all-time NCAA rushing leader.”

Nov. 13 will be the 25th anniversary of Dayne setting the NCAA Division I career rushing record against Iowa.

McIntosh also noted on “The Camp” that Wisconsin will honor his record-breaking achievement this fall.