MADISON, Wis. -- The Badger/Cal Poly game on Saturday wasn't only Wisconsin's final regular-season game but also the final Badger Bash at the current Union South on the UW campus.

On Saturday Badger fans at the Badger Bash celebrated with the usual beer, brats, and music while also bidding a final farewell to the Union South they've come to know and love.

Carol Garuz, a UW-Madison graduate in 1982, came back on Saturday to attend the game with her daughter, Alexis, who is now a sophomore at the UW.

"It's been a long time since I've been back to a game, 24 years," said Garuz. "I'd forgotten what a big family it feels like, watching everybody in their red Badger gear and all those things. It's like coming home; it's just been really fun."

Her daughter concurred: "It's just really high-energy, you see a lot of people having fun, people really enjoy it and are looking forward to coming here."

The Badger Bash that the Garuzs enjoyed Saturday is now on hold for two years while the University demolishes Union South and constructs a new one.

"Union South is really too small for the Union's needs at this point," said Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier. "We need a facility almost twice this size to meet the needs of the campus."

On Saturday, the campus celebrated with a cake, a special band performance, and a memory board to ensure that the new union is built with old traditions in mind.

"Saturday was an exciting time, but it was also a bittersweet time," said Guthier. "There are many students and staff that have worked many years here at Union South and are sad to see the last Badger Bash at the old Union South."

Demolition of the current Union South is scheduled to start in early January, with construction of the new facility beginning in March. The new Union South is scheduled to open in the spring of 2011.