Big Blue Huddle

After a 5-7 record including a 5 game losing streak at the end of this past season and with an overall record of only 13-13, the Wisconsin Badgers extended the contract of head coach Luke Fickell to 2032.  He had a $40 million buyout as of December.  No other team is poaching him anytime soon.

I happen to like Fickell and think this one season was an aberration.  That said, you dont put yourself in a worse position by extending him.  If he has another 5-7 record next year would you want him for another 6 years?

On this board when I hear that "sports" people know more than we do as fans, I want to toss my cookies.  Here is a perfectly good example of why that is not always true.

The Giants were tied for the worst record in football.  The Giants made comically bad mistakes with Barkley.  The same team that signed Daniels to a veteran contract and passed on a QB in the last draft class.  The Giants are considered by most experts to be the least talented in the league and seem to be the odds-on favorite to have the worst record this upcoming season.

Despite all that, Mara decided the best thing for the organization was to stay the course.  Because taking a bad roster and making it worse after 3 years shows so much promise   

The Badgers had 25 players enter the transfer portal and were forced to decline a Bowl invite this year, ending the longest Bowl streak in the nation.

I was excited when Fickel was signed, honestly thinking if they added a dynamic passing game to the current hardnose running style it would be the difference maker.

It has been anything but...
I thought the state would run Fickell out after he went with a shotgun formation on a 4th and 1.

This extension makes no sense and many Badger fans are in shock as to what McIntosh is thinking, or not thinking about regarding the Fickell extension.

McIntosh fired Chryst giving him 11 million to part ways. Fired Longo as OC this November in hopes of the new OC fixing the offense Fickell was brought into fix.  And now Mc extends the offensive minded coach who has yet to fix anything on the offense, BTW Fickell has lost all 4 QB's to the portal this offseason


MCintosh also in the middle of 285 million Football program upgrades, in doing so he closed the Wisconsin Badger track center after the 23/24 season with no replacement for the 24/25 season.  With no replacement facility planned and area high schools and D3 colleges not able to make it work for the Badgers, the Badger Track program reached out to its alumni at a November function and a past athletes family struck a deal for $25,000 a month and $400,000 in track upgrades for the Athletes to train 35 minutes away another county.

McIntosh also extended Chris Bono the Wrestling coach after a horrible record and not being able to secure the best in State wrestlers who are winning World Titles, NCAA titles and reaching  All American status at other out of state Universities.

WE shall see how the Mike Hastings hire turns out, hard to tell after 2 seasons.

McIntosh has been a bit of mess as an AD to date, his contract runs out in 2029 but he will be judged by how Fickell works out

Quote from: Philosophers on February 20, 2025, 08:55:19 AMAfter a 5-7 record including a 5 game losing streak at the end of this past season and with an overall record of only 13-13, the Wisconsin Badgers extended the contract of head coach Luke Fickell to 2032.  He had a $40 million buyout as of December.  No other team is poaching him anytime soon.

I happen to like Fickell and think this one season was an aberration.  That said, you dont put yourself in a worse position by extending him.  If he has another 5-7 record next year would you want him for another 6 years?

On this board when I hear that "sports" people know more than we do as fans, I want to toss my cookies.  Here is a perfectly good example of why that is not always true.

No, not always true, Joseph. It kinda depends on who is making what comparison and whether or not we include ourselves in such.

Cheers!

Quote from: babywhales on February 20, 2025, 09:26:09 AMThe Badgers had 25 players enter the transfer portal and were forced to decline a Bowl invite this year, ending the longest Bowl streak in the nation.

I was excited when Fickel was signed, honestly thinking if they added a dynamic passing game to the current hardnose running style it would be the difference maker.

It has been anything but...
I thought the state would run Fickell out after he went with a shotgun formation on a 4th and 1.

This extension makes no sense and many Badger fans are in shock as to what McIntosh is thinking, or not thinking about regarding the Fickell extension.

McIntosh fired Chryst giving him 11 million to part ways. Fired Longo as OC this November in hopes of the new OC fixing the offense Fickell was brought into fix.  And now Mc extends the offensive minded coach who has yet to fix anything on the offense, BTW Fickell has lost all 4 QB's to the portal this offseason


MCintosh also in the middle of 285 million Football program upgrades, in doing so he closed the Wisconsin Badger track center after the 23/24 season with no replacement for the 24/25 season.  With no replacement facility planned and area high schools and D3 colleges not able to make it work for the Badgers, the Badger Track program reached out to its alumni at a November function and a past athletes family struck a deal for $25,000 a month and $400,000 in track upgrades for the Athletes to train 35 minutes away another county.

McIntosh also extended Chris Bono the Wrestling coach after a horrible record and not being able to secure the best in State wrestlers who are winning World Titles, NCAA titles and reaching  All American status at other out of state Universities.

WE shall see how the Mike Hastings hire turns out, hard to tell after 2 seasons.

McIntosh has been a bit of mess as an AD to date, his contract runs out in 2029 but he will be judged by how Fickell works out

Thanks for the additional color.  Really paints a bad picture of how the Athletics and Football Programs are being run.

Sad to see this at Wisconsin.

Quote from: Philosophers on February 20, 2025, 08:55:19 AMAfter a 5-7 record including a 5 game losing streak at the end of this past season and with an overall record of only 13-13, the Wisconsin Badgers extended the contract of head coach Luke Fickell to 2032.  He had a $40 million buyout as of December.  No other team is poaching him anytime soon.

I happen to like Fickell and think this one season was an aberration.  That said, you dont put yourself in a worse position by extending him.  If he has another 5-7 record next year would you want him for another 6 years?

On this board when I hear that "sports" people know more than we do as fans, I want to toss my cookies.  Here is a perfectly good example of why that is not always true.

How many bad/mediocre years did Harbaugh have at Michigan before he started being considered a top 10 team?

Fickell just finished year two of a total rebuild. When he showed up to campus he had one scholarship quarterback on the roster to work with, and Wisconsin was that kids only P4 offer.

This year they played one of the most difficult schedules in the country with a back up quarterback for all but 8 quarters, and next years schedule is even more difficult. Despite all of that he is crushing it in recruiting and having a cloud over your head while trying to rebuild your talent while facing a murders row schedule is counter productive.

The AD you're ridiculing as being foolish was an Outland award winner and a first round draft pick, and only a fool on this would think that they know as much about football as him. He's forgotten more about the game than either you or I will ever know.

Quote from: madbadger on February 20, 2025, 12:34:51 PMHow many bad/mediocre years did Harbaugh have at Michigan before he started being considered a top 10 team?

Fickell just finished year two of a total rebuild. When he showed up to campus he had one scholarship quarterback on the roster to work with, and Wisconsin was that kids only P4 offer.

This year they played one of the most difficult schedules in the country with a back up quarterback for all but 8 quarters, and next years schedule is even more difficult. Despite all of that he is crushing it in recruiting and having a cloud over your head while trying to rebuild your talent while facing a murders row schedule is counter productive.

The AD you're ridiculing as being foolish was an Outland award winner and a first round draft pick, and only a fool on this would think that they know as much about football as him. He's forgotten more about the game than either you or I will ever know.

Fickell was signed to a 7 year contract in 2022 so it ran until 2029.  It's only 2025.  He has four more years on it try to execute his plan.  He is not there yet in terms of getting over the hump.  At this point you don't extend him.  The whole point of giving him an original 7 year contract was to allow him the time to get it turned around.

Extending him when he has not gotten over the hump yet is serious breach of fiduciary responsibility to the university as that becomes extra money owed to him if they let him go.  A contract is a business matter, not a football matter.  Your AD may have won an Outland Award, but he flunked Business 101.

P.S. I did not criticize Wisconsin at all, only the decision to extend the contract so take an Anger Management pill and chill out. 

Quote from: Philosophers on February 20, 2025, 02:48:22 PMFickell was signed to a 7 year contract in 2022 so it ran until 2029.  It's only 2025.  He has four more years on it try to execute his plan.  He is not there yet in terms of getting over the hump.  At this point you don't extend him.  The whole point of giving him an original 7 year contract was to allow him the time to get it turned around.

Extending him when he has not gotten over the hump yet is serious breach of fiduciary responsibility to the university as that becomes extra money owed to him if they let him go.  A contract is a business matter, not a football matter.  Your AD may have won an Outland Award, but he flunked Business 101.

P.S. I did not criticize Wisconsin at all, only the decision to extend the contract so take an Anger Management pill and chill out. 

My understanding is that the extension does not include a larger buyout after the next two years. He was going to get those two years absent some off field scandal, so it doesn't matter. What it does is silence the idiots in the national media and fan base who want to talk about him being on the hot seat making it difficult to sit in a recruits house and assure him that you will be there when he's a freshman. It allows him to coach in peace. I just don't see the downside or it being proof that the Wisconsin athletic department is somehow being mismanaged.

Quote from: babywhales on February 20, 2025, 09:26:09 AMThe Badgers had 25 players enter the transfer portal and were forced to decline a Bowl invite this year, ending the longest Bowl streak in the nation.

I was excited when Fickel was signed, honestly thinking if they added a dynamic passing game to the current hardnose running style it would be the difference maker.

It has been anything but...
I thought the state would run Fickell out after he went with a shotgun formation on a 4th and 1.

This extension makes no sense and many Badger fans are in shock as to what McIntosh is thinking, or not thinking about regarding the Fickell extension.

McIntosh fired Chryst giving him 11 million to part ways. Fired Longo as OC this November in hopes of the new OC fixing the offense Fickell was brought into fix.  And now Mc extends the offensive minded coach who has yet to fix anything on the offense, BTW Fickell has lost all 4 QB's to the portal this offseason


MCintosh also in the middle of 285 million Football program upgrades, in doing so he closed the Wisconsin Badger track center after the 23/24 season with no replacement for the 24/25 season.  With no replacement facility planned and area high schools and D3 colleges not able to make it work for the Badgers, the Badger Track program reached out to its alumni at a November function and a past athletes family struck a deal for $25,000 a month and $400,000 in track upgrades for the Athletes to train 35 minutes away another county.

McIntosh also extended Chris Bono the Wrestling coach after a horrible record and not being able to secure the best in State wrestlers who are winning World Titles, NCAA titles and reaching  All American status at other out of state Universities.

WE shall see how the Mike Hastings hire turns out, hard to tell after 2 seasons.

McIntosh has been a bit of mess as an AD to date, his contract runs out in 2029 but he will be judged by how Fickell works out

Quote from: babywhales on February 20, 2025, 09:26:09 AMThe Badgers had 25 players enter the transfer portal and were forced to decline a Bowl invite this year, ending the longest Bowl streak in the nation.

I was excited when Fickel was signed, honestly thinking if they added a dynamic passing game to the current hardnose running style it would be the difference maker.

It has been anything but...
I thought the state would run Fickell out after he went with a shotgun formation on a 4th and 1.

This extension makes no sense and many Badger fans are in shock as to what McIntosh is thinking, or not thinking about regarding the Fickell extension.

McIntosh fired Chryst giving him 11 million to part ways. Fired Longo as OC this November in hopes of the new OC fixing the offense Fickell was brought into fix.  And now Mc extends the offensive minded coach who has yet to fix anything on the offense, BTW Fickell has lost all 4 QB's to the portal this offseason


MCintosh also in the middle of 285 million Football program upgrades, in doing so he closed the Wisconsin Badger track center after the 23/24 season with no replacement for the 24/25 season.  With no replacement facility planned and area high schools and D3 colleges not able to make it work for the Badgers, the Badger Track program reached out to its alumni at a November function and a past athletes family struck a deal for $25,000 a month and $400,000 in track upgrades for the Athletes to train 35 minutes away another county.

McIntosh also extended Chris Bono the Wrestling coach after a horrible record and not being able to secure the best in State wrestlers who are winning World Titles, NCAA titles and reaching  All American status at other out of state Universities.

WE shall see how the Mike Hastings hire turns out, hard to tell after 2 seasons.

McIntosh has been a bit of mess as an AD to date, his contract runs out in 2029 but he will be judged by how Fickell works out

25 players in the portal is not unusual anymore. Of the 25 you could argue that two traded up, three moved laterally and the rest dropped down to non P4 teams. The borderline criminal mismanagement of the program under Paul Chryst led to the roster being loaded with poor players. No one that follows the program closely is crying over the loss of any player other than Will Pauling, James Thompson and Xavier Lucas. All three got big paydays to leave. Everyone else was a guy taking a roster spot that could have been used to upgrade the program.

For the record they didn't have to turn down a bowl invite as the the tiebreaker for that last spot wasn't in their favor. IMHO with Brayden Locke, a 5-11 unathletic turnover machine it would have been a waste of time anyways. He was easily the worst starting quarterback at Wisconsin in two decades. I'm glad he moved on.

As far as the non revenue sports feeling the squeeze, you haven't seen anything yet. At the P4 level revenues are going up slightly but the expenses to field a competitive football and basketball program has exploded. ESPN reported that OSU ran a $36 million dollar deficit in their athletic department this past year, and that was before they are being forced to share revenue with the student athletes. Programs that don't generate revenue and aren't needed to balance title IX are going to be gone in the next 10 years. It's really sad that a program like Wisconsin track and field if going to go away, but as you know from living in the area there simply is not room on campus to build an indoor track facility and even if there was they don't have the resources to build that and an indoor practice facility. Nothing Mac can do to change the economic environment of major college athletics.

Hastings had a killer first year but has had a disappointing second year. The kids he inherited were very talented but recruited to play in a different system. IIRC they lost five NHL draft picks in the portal and two more decommitted just before the season started. Because hockey recruiting usually happens three or four years before they step foot on campus it's gonna take a couple years to get his guys. He's been one of the best coaches in college hockey for a long time, but it's gonna take a couple years.

Bono isn't the right guy, IMHO. The worst part is that Ben Askren hates him and McIntosh. Askren's wrestling academy has all the top in state wrestlers. Apparently Askren wanted the job that went to Bono, and It's made him bitter.  He actively pushes his wrestlers to look at any school but Wisconsin. It sucks but it is what it is.

Quote from: madbadger on February 20, 2025, 05:00:40 PMMy understanding is that the extension does not include a larger buyout after the next two years. He was going to get those two years absent some off field scandal, so it doesn't matter. What it does is silence the idiots in the national media and fan base who want to talk about him being on the hot seat making it difficult to sit in a recruits house and assure him that you will be there when he's a freshman. It allows him to coach in peace. I just don't see the downside or it being proof that the Wisconsin athletic department is somehow being mismanaged.

His track record has been stellar.  I cant imagine anyone credible seeing him on any hot seat.  The damage caused by prior coaching regimes in terms of players, environment, etc. takes a few years to change.  I know it did at Michigan.  I like Fickell and think he's a good coach.

Quote from: Philosophers on February 20, 2025, 06:22:50 PMHis track record has been stellar.  I cant imagine anyone credible seeing him on any hot seat.  The damage caused by prior coaching regimes in terms of players, environment, etc. takes a few years to change.  I know it did at Michigan.  I like Fickell and think he's a good coach.

There was a national writer that put him on his list of coaches on the hot seat today despite being extended. We are going to struggle to win more than 7 games considering the strength of our schedule. If that happens and he wasn't extended he would have been on the short list of names on the hot seat. It's silly that after two years of a rebuild that an AD has to do what he did but it would have really hampered recruiting as other schools would clearly use it against him not matter how unfounded.

Quote from: madbadger on February 20, 2025, 07:01:47 PMThere was a national writer that put him on his list of coaches on the hot seat today despite being extended. We are going to struggle to win more than 7 games considering the strength of our schedule. If that happens and he wasn't extended he would have been on the short list of names on the hot seat. It's silly that after two years of a rebuild that an AD has to do what he did but it would have really hampered recruiting as other schools would clearly use it against him not matter how unfounded.

I think even if he is extended, media can still say he's on the hot seat which generates the unfortunate headlines that everyone including prospects read.  I think he'll get it pointed in the right direction.  Just needs the right combo of talent, player leadership, great teaching coaches and some good QB play.