Olympian Meagan Duggan to give UW Madison spring Commencement speech

MADISON, Wis. (WMDX) – Olympic gold medalist and former UW Badger Women’s Hockey legend Meagan Duggan will give this spring’s commencement speech at UW Madison. 

Duggan played for the Badgers from 2006-2011, having played in four NCAA championship games, and winning three of those. She was also named first-team All-American and received the Patty Kazmaier Award as the best women’s hockey player in the NCAA as a senior. When she graduated in 2011, she left the university as the number 1 scorer in the program’s history. 

She then went on to play six seasons of professional hockey. Duggan played four seasons for the Boston Blades of the Canadians Women’s Hockey League, including their championship season in 2014-15. 

Duggan also played for Team USA in the Olympics in three years. In both 2010 and 2014, Duggan and the USA won silver medals. In 2018, Duggan was named captain of Team USA, and helped to win the gold medal for the team for the first time in 20 years. 

Off the ice, Duggan has long worked to promote equality in women’s hockey, and to create opportunities for the next generation of skaters. In 2017, she successfully led a strike by the U.S. Women’s National Team to achieve gender-equitable treatment ahead of the 2017 World Championship. The team was later honored by the Women’s Sports Foundation’s Wilma Rudolph Courage Award, and was named ESPN’s Sports Humanitarian Team of the Year. 

Duggan currently serves as the director of player development for the New Jersey Devils, and is one of only a few women in hockey operations roles throughout the NHL. 

“Even during her college years, Meghan demonstrated exceptional athletic talent, prompting her to temporarily pause her academic pursuits as a junior to join the U.S. National Team,” said Gracie Nelson, Senior Class President at UW Madison. “Since earning her degree, she has represented the nation three times in the Olympic Games and participated in eight IIHF Women’s world championships. Yet, Meghan’s influence extends beyond her incredible athletic achievements, making her biggest impact off the ice. She has worked on inclusion within the sport of hockey and continues the fight for gender equity in sports.” 

Duggan will deliver this spring’s commencement address at Camp Randall on May 11.