Luke Fickell’s coaching staff will be a work in progress for the next few weeks.
One area that the University of Wisconsin’s new football coach plans to hit the ground running is recruiting.
Fickell was set to return to Cincinnati on Monday night and when he gets back to town Tuesday is expected to bring a couple of key pieces of his old staff: recruiting assistants Max Stienecker and Pat Lambert.
Postings for athletics jobs must be open for at least one week before a hiring can be made, according to school regulations. The job advertisements list Dec. 5 as the deadline for applications.
Letter to the editor: As a Badgers football season ticketholder for more than 40 years, I am sorely disappointed in UW’s disregard of the sentiments of the players and the fans in overlooking the efforts and support of coach Jim Leonhard. I have abandoned any interest in supporting the UW Athletic Department.
New University of Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell will get a 50% bump in pay from his old job in his first season, and a salary more than $2 million higher than his predecessor.
Fickell comes to Wisconsin after six seasons as the Cincinnati football head coach. The 2021 national coach of the year said he had Wisconsin on his radar over the last couple of years.
Now, there’s another layer in major conference sports: Name, Image, and Likeness deals (NIL). Players are now allowed to cash in on endorsement deals, and with the transfer portal, are essentially free agents every year.
The UW Field House will be filled to the brim when the Badgers take the court on Friday.
Job postings for offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, director of football strength and conditioning, assistant strength and conditioning coach, and another assistant coach went up on the university’s jobs site Monday morning. The postings list an opening date of Monday, November 28 and a closing date of Monday, December 5.
New Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell had a whirlwind first day in Madison on Monday, touring Camp Randall Stadium with his family, meeting with university officials and donors, and answering a lot of questions about what’s next for the program.
The UW Board of Regents met Sunday afternoon before UW confirmed its decision to hire Fickell.
Fickell’s hiring comes as a shock to many people who thought Leonhard, who had been serving as the interim head coach, would get the job, and current and former Badgers have mixed reactions.
In a season full of surprises, the Badgers gave fans another one Sunday.
“Well I think I was shocked,” UW Student Eric Dietze said. “I think a lot of people thought it was Leonhard’s job, so to see Fickell get it, shocking.”
The reactions on Luke Fickell, and not Jim Leonhard, set to become the next head football coach at Wisconsin, are pouring in across social media.
Many are stunned by the hire, with plenty praising the move, while others are surprised by UW deciding not to go with Leonhard, the hometown player turned interim head coach.
Wisconsin is negotiating a deal with Cincinnati’s Luke Fickell to try to make him the Badgers’ next head coach, a person with knowledge of the situation told The Associated Press on Sunday.
The University of Wisconsin released a statement on Oct. 19 confirming that “private photos” of the Badgers’ women’s volleyball team had been circulating online “without consent,” prompting an investigation by the UW-Madison Police Department into “multiple crimes.”
Luke Fickell is the 31st coach in Badgers football history after UW-System Regents on Sunday approved the deal struck between McIntosh and the former Cincinnati coach. McIntosh flew to Cincinnati on Sunday afternoon to pick up Fickell, and an invite-only welcome event and introductory news conference was planned for 4 p.m. Monday at Camp Randall Stadium.
The Badgers (25-3) earned the No. 3 overall seed and will face Quinnipiac (14-14) in a first-round match at 7 p.m. Friday at the Field House. TCU (16-10) will face Washington (20-10) at 4:30 p.m. Friday in the other first-round match in Madison.
UW-Madison police reported that 54 people were ejected from Camp Randall Stadium and 16 people were arrested during Saturday’s game between the Badgers and Minnesota.
Luke Fickell was greeted by UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin, Bucky Badger, a group of senior athletic department staff members and UW’s photo and video teams in a private hangar at Wisconsin Aviation at the Dane County Regional Airport. The gathering was out of view of reporters.
The Badgers (24-3, 18-1 Big Ten) won the ninth Big Ten title in program history. It is just the third time in Big Ten history a team has won four straight championships — the other two times were both by Penn State, which won four from 1996-99 and eight from 2003-10.
Another piece of the search for the next University of Wisconsin football coach has been put in place and one more could happen soon.
An Athletic Board ad hoc committee that serves in an advisory role for hiring has been formed for the football opening, board chair Ann Sheehy said.
Taylor went undrafted in the 2020 NFL event and did not sign as a free agent. He worked out for teams to gain exposure in hopes of securing a contract. He recalled those stays in hotels were lonely, especially with the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing.
But it also sparked his already creative mind.
The UW-Madison Police Department has been sending an officer on the road with the University of Wisconsin volleyball team since the online circulation of private photos and videos of players in October.
The decal features Chandler’s initials “DC” in UW’s cardinal red, and is placed on the back left side of the team’s white helmets.
The position must be posted for seven days, according to UW System rules, before it can be filled. UW retained the search firm TurnKey to present and review candidates, and applicants are directed to TurnKey’s website to submit materials. Applicants must apply by Saturday, Nov. 26 to be considered.
The Wisconsin men’s cross country team proved again Saturday at the NCAA championships in Stillwater, Oklahoma, that it is the best in the Big Ten Conference.
That figure is about $150 million more than in 2019, the last time a similar study was conducted. In 2011, UW-Madison athletics’ annual economic impact was $970 million, or over $1.2 billion when adjusted for today’s inflation.
The Badgers set their single-game field goal percentage mark in a 103-49 non-conference victory over Bradley at the Kohl Center.
Badgers sports have a $757 million annual economic impact on Wisconsin, a 24% increase from 2019. That was one of the results of an economic impact study produced by Philadelphia consulting firm Econsult Solutions Inc., and released by UW on Wednesday.
Jim Leonhard, the University of Wisconsin’s interim head football coach, tweeted that Chandler’s personality “was infectious and he was a joy to be around.”
Every University of Wisconsin football player who spoke with State Journal reporters Tuesday at the McClain Center mentioned the look that was always on Devin Chandler’s face when he was a member of the Badgers’ program. They spoke of his bright personality and willingness to express himself, how he injected energy into every situation he found himself in, and was the first to jump up and start dancing when a song he enjoyed came through the locker room speakers.
Then there was Devin Chandler, who had come back to his state school after initially heading to the University of Wisconsin. Even as a newcomer, he instantly found a way to make everyone smile. “He was everything you’d want [competitively] out of a person at this level but he was a big kid. Loved to dance, loved to sing … Life of the party.”
Jim Leonhard, the University of Wisconsin’s interim head football coach, tweeted Monday that Chandler “had a lasting impact on his teammates, even after he left UW, which is a testament to the type of person he was.”
Chandler, a junior, played as a wide receiver and kick returner for UVA and had transferred this offseason from the University of Wisconsin.
A 6-foot wide receiver and kick returner from Huntersville, North Carolina, Chandler transferred to Virginia this season from the University of Wisconsin.
Perry was a linebacker, while Chandler, a transfer student from the University of Wisconsin, and Davis were wide receivers. The motive for the shooting remains unclear, according to UVA officials.
“Once a badger, always a badger,” Jim Leonhard, the University of Wisconsin’s interim head football coach, tweeted Monday.
Chandler came to Virginia’s program after having transferred from the University of Wisconsin.“It is heartbreaking and tragic that Devin’s young life was cut short by violence,” Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh said in a statement.
Devin Chandler played on the University of Wisconsin at Madison football team as a freshman, before transferring to U-Va. Alvis Whitted, a coach for Wisconsin, remembered Chandler as not just an “exceptional” wide receiver, but also as an “all-around good gu
All three victims were members of the University of Virginia football team. Perry was a 6-foot-3 junior linebacker from Miami. Davis was a 6-foot-7 junior wide receiver from Dorchester, South Carolina. Chandler was a 6-foot junior wide receiver from Huntersville, North Carolina, who transferred this season from the University of Wisconsin.
Chandler, a junior wide receiver and kick returner, had recently transferred to UVA this offseason from the University of Wisconsin, where the football program said it was “deeply saddened” by the tragic deaths.
Brent Moss might just be one of the most important players to wear Badger red. While he trails names like Ron Dayne and Jonathan Taylor on the Badgers’ all-time rushing list, the 1993 Rose Bowl MVP revived the program.
In a statement posted on Twitter, McIntosh described Moss as one of the leaders of the football program’s revival in the early 1990s.
Former Badger Devin Chandler was killed at the University of Virginia overnight, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. Chandler was one of three Cavalier players shot and killed Sunday.
University of Virginia President Jim Ryan announced Devin Chandler, a former UW wide receiver, was one of the victims in a press conference Monday morning.
Moss made headlines even before donning a Badger jersey. In 1988 he helped Racine Park High School win a State Championship, rushing for 202 yards and 3 touchdowns in the final game.
Former Badgers wide receiver Devin Chandler was one of three people fatally shot on the campus of the University of Virginia Sunday night.
A former University of Wisconsin wide receiver was among one of the victims killed in a Sunday night shooting in Charlottesville, Virginia.
Former University of Wisconsin wide receiver Devin Chandler was one of three people killed by a gunman at the University of Virginia, a UW spokesman said.
Moss was part of the Badgers football program from 1991-94 and was a catalyst for the turnaround led by coach Barry Alvarez. Moss was the team’s leading rusher in 1993 when UW won the Big Ten and the Rose Bowl in Alvarez’s fourth season. Moss’ 158 yards and two touchdowns on the ground helped the Badgers win the program’s first Rose Bowl in 40 years, and earned him game MVP honors. He was named the Big Ten Player of the Year that season as well.
The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team spent time on Normandy Beach in France this summer and will play three games in The Bahamas later this month. Not too shabby in terms of creating memories.
Letter to the editor: During the game, I went to get two hotdogs, two huge sodas and two bags of chips about 30 or so rows up and back. I am 77 years old and sometimes I have trouble walking. A voice spoke, and I stopped to look down at a 10- or 12-year-old boy who asked, “Sir, can I help you?” Please give this young man’s parents a very appreciative high five. If the parents or the boy are reading this, please offer my gratitude.
If things continue to go well — or maybe even if they don’t — the job may be his in another month. That’s for Chris McIntosh to decide, and the UW athletic director so far has been tight-lipped on his thought process surrounding this crucial hire.
It’s believed to be the first time the men’s basketball team has had a uniform color other than the traditional cardinal in white. The women’s basketball team also revealed an all-black uniform Friday.
All job openings at the University of Wisconsin have conditions about the length of time they need to be advertised and recommendations on how many candidates should be interviewed.
UW-Madison police reported that just 17 people were ejected from Camp Randall Stadium and four people were arrested during Saturday’s game between the Badgers and Maryland.
Noted: I started as a freshman at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in September 2021, and instantly I found the men’s water polo team to be of my homes on campus. I have never been the fastest swimmer or the highest scorer on the team, and most of the guys are at least half a foot taller than me. But I love this sport and I love my team to pieces, whether it is the exhilaration of setting up my teammates up for a great goal or joking with them on the pool deck. I wouldn’t trade them for the world. They accept me as their teammate
Jim Leonhard, preparing for his fourth game as Wisconsin’s interim head football coach, didn’t duck the questions.
Have you concluded you are capable of handling the responsibilities that come with leading the program as full-time head coach and do you want the job?
Or, do you still have questions you need answered?
“I know I’m capable,” Leonhard, who turned 40 last week, said Monday during his weekly news conference. “It’s been really exciting for me to see the response of the coaches, of the players. It has been exciting to see certain little changes you’ve made and the buy-in of the messaging and the play on the field.
