By Adam Roberts – 3/29/2021
Think about the Wisconsin football program when Barry Alvarez took over in 1990. At the time, the school hadn’t had a winning record since 1984, and Barry’s 1-10 record his first year wasn’t very reassuring. But within three years, the Badgers would be the talk of the state, winning the 1993 Rose Bowl 21-14 over UCLA.
Over a 16 year run from 1990 to 2005 Alvarez went 117-74-4 (he also served as an interim head coach in 2012 for Wisconsin’s loss in the Rose Bowl and again in 2014 for their Outback Bowl win) and led the Badgers to nine bowl game victories including three Rose Bowls. As an athletic director, he was the third-longest tenured at the position in the Power 5 and oversaw the last decade and a half of Badger football success. Now, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and other reports, Alvarez plans to retire.
ESPN reports that a potential replacement could be deputy AD Chris McIntosh; he was an offensive lineman on Alvarez’s 1998 and 1999 teams earning All-American honors. ESPN also says the school may pursue a national search for Barry’s replacement. The Sentinel says a formal announcement from either Alvarez or the school will likely be made in the next few weeks.