Given the big names that have been fired — and are now available — around the college football ranks this season, and when combined with the program’s struggles over the past three years, it seemed possible that Wisconsin’s Luke Fickell could be the next prominent coach to get sacked. But it’s not happening.
Luke Fickell gets at least one more year at Wisconsin
Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh told ESPN on Thursday that Fickell will be back on the Badgers’ sidelines at the start of the 2026 season, but with significant changes around him for the program. Those changes are likely to include new investments in the roster and program as a whole.
Here is what McIntosh told ESPN about the decision.
“Chancellor [Jennifer] Mnookin and I are aligned on significantly elevating investment in our program to compete at highest level,” McIntosh told ESPN. “We are willing to make an investment in infrastructure and staff. As important is our ability to retain and recruit players in a revenue share and NIL era.”
Fickell arrived at Wisconsin in 2022 with significant hype. He had previously turned Cincinnati into one of the top programs in the country, taking the Bearcats as high as the No. 2 ranking during the 2021 season.
His Wisconsin tenure has not been as successful. As of Thursday, Wisconsin is 15-19 under Fickell’s watch, and only 2-6 this season. The Badgers’ only wins have come against Miami (Ohio) and Middle Tennessee State, while they have scored just 41 points in six games against Power 4 conferences. They have just seven points over the past three games.
It’s not only bad, it continues what has been a steady regression for the program. Just for comparison, by Fickell’s third year at Cincinnati he was working on his second consecutive 11-win season and had the program regularly in the top-25. The Badgers are not anything close to that.
So why is Wisconsin sticking with him?
Not wanting to pay Fickell’s buyout could certainly be part of it. Or it could be the fact that so many high-profile jobs opening this season could give them significantly more competition when it comes to landing an upgrade at head coach. Or perhaps they feel consistency and a greater financial investment in the program is what they need.
Time will tell if they are making the right decision.
