Badgering: DJ Shawna

If you need a theme song — a tune that captures your personality and your mood, to be played out of stadium-sized speakers as you strut or walk or sashay through your day — consult with Shawna Nicols ’05. Nicols — “DJ Shawna,” professionally — is the official DJ for the Milwaukee Bucks, the U.S. women’s national soccer team, and the NCAA women’s Final Four. She knows how to choose the tunes that set a mood. A former Badger basketball player, Nicols has made a career in creativity — she’s also a songwriter, author, and entrepreneur.

How did you get started as a DJ?

I was the first official DJ for Badger football and then women’s basketball. My senior year, I was medically redshirted [on the UW women’s basketball team] for too many concussions. I got to spend a lot of time at Camp Randall in the weight room, working out with football players and strength and conditioning coaches. I got to hear a lot of the music that players like.

Why did you choose DJing as a career?

I’d always had basketball and wonderful teammates, and after my undergrad time was done, I didn’t know what to do. It was such a tricky space to navigate, and as most 22-, 23-year-olds do to meet friends and meet people, I started playing a lot of sports for a local bar. And that’s where I started DJing. I feel socially awkward — [like] I don’t know how to act — when I’m not in a basketball uniform or behind a DJ booth, so [DJing] was a cool way for me to explore the [same] feeling I had when I put on that number 40 jersey. It started as a hobby, and then when I played professional basketball, I got to DJ overseas with my teammates, and it just all snowballed. When I put that jersey on or I get to be DJ Shawna, I think it’s the best version of me.

What makes you the best DJ?

I think one of my superpowers as a DJ is I don’t DJ for me; I DJ to make people happy and to add value.

Was it difficult to be a DJ for football games?

Football is tricky because you have such a wide demographic, and you have 80,000 fans at Camp Randall. It makes me grin ear to ear, pushing play on “Jump Around.” It’s electrifying. But it’s tricky because you have [young] kids, your student section is 18 to early 20s, then you have people as old as my grandpa … and then you add the players. My goal, when I was DJing football games, [was that] I wanted to make everybody happy at some point during the day.

Do you consider DJing for the Bucks to be your main career?

I would say it’s prominent. I am an independent contractor, so I’m not full-time with the Bucks. It’s a huge part of my world, but there I think are so many layers to what I want to do. I’ve written and produced two original songs, which I’m really, really proud of. I wrote and produced a kids’ book after my stepdad passed away as a way to grieve in his honor. I have a clothing line I care about, and I love the messaging on that. I have opportunities to do — I kind of cringe at this word — motivational speaking. I like to share my story, and sometimes people find that that is motivating or inspiring. I think there are a lot of layers to who I am.

What are the titles of your songs?

The first song is called “I Won’t Give Up,” and my friend Tanner Howe and I wrote it, and he is singing on that. He was on The Voice. And the second song is called “Heart of a Fighter,” and that song is what I’m hoping becomes the women’s basketball championship anthem.

And the book?

It’s called The Adventures of Bob and Downtown Milwaukee. It came out in [2019]. It’s about our family dog, Bob, who is a female yellow lab, and we adventure through downtown Milwaukee. My stepdad was diagnosed with stage four terminal cancer and gone in five months. It was one of those things where I didn’t know I was grieving, but [writing the book] was one of the best ways to put all those feelings into something creative to put out into the universe. All the proceeds go to an organization here in Milwaukee called Key to Change, which is to help our chronically unhoused families and youth. That is a big passion of our family.

What would you put on a playlist for a Badger Game Day?

The Classics

High Energy

For All Ages

Everyone can get tickets to a Bucks game. How can they experience your DJing?

My website is DJShawna.com. Everything on social media is @DJShawna: Facebook, Instagram, X or Twitter, and Spotify. Lots of people need DJs. They should reach out.