Rallying its students, alumni, staff and fans, the University of Wisconsin is the winner of the second annual Abbott and Big Ten Conference "We Give Blood" competition.According to a release from Abbott, the university inspired 15,476 blood donations over the course of the competition that could save up to 46,428 lives.In addition, nearly 37% of student donors said the campaign inspired them to donate blood for the first time, and more than 90% reported they are likely to donate again."I am incredibly proud of our Badger community for showing up with generosity, compassion, and fantastic teamwork," Jennifer Mnookin, chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said."And I'm grateful to our peers in the Big Ten for their passionate engagement in this friendly competition, and to Abbott for the opportunity. Together, we're saving lives. A huge thank you to our students, faculty, and staff and broader Badger community for demonstrating once again the power of our Wisconsin Idea commitment to public service."The University of Wisconsin held off the 2024 champion, the University of Nebraska, in a close battle. As an award for its win, Wisconsin will receive $1 million from Abbott to advance student or community health.In just the first 22 days of the initiative, Abbott says donations surpassed last year's total. Overall donations in this year's competition went up 319% compared to 2024, with the entire Big Ten Conference recording 83,043 total donations which could help save up to 250,000 lives."This year's competition not only helped to save a record-breaking number of lives, but it also showed the power of using sports for good with all schools increasing their participation from year one," Robert B. Ford, Abbott chairman and CEO, said."We are proud of the students, alumni, and fans who united to make a lasting impact on the blood supply, and we hope this spirit continues well beyond the season."According to Abbott, someone in the U.S. needs blood every two seconds."This life-saving partnership demonstrates the tremendous passion of the Big Ten community," Tony Petitti, commissioner of the Big Ten Conference, said."We're proud to help activate our fans from coast-to-coast in support of such a valuable mission and excited for the opportunity to honor the University of Wisconsin during the 2025 Discover Big Ten Football Championship Game."The "We Give Blood" competition ran throughout the college football season, from Aug. 27 through Dec. 5.Donation totals were tracked live and you can find the final results by clicking here.Its about time to watch on your time. Stream local news and weather 24/7 by searching for TMJ4 on your device.Available for download on Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, and more.Report a typo or error ...read more read less