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    Pressure Mounting for Wisconsin to Make ‘Move’ on Luke Fickell

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    Pressure Mounting for Wisconsin to Make 'Move' on Luke Fickell

    Wisconsin enters Week 7 on a three-game losing streak. All three of the defeats were by double-digits to then-No. 19 Alabama, Maryland and then-No. 20 Michigan.
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    The Badgers are set to host 3-2 Iowa on Saturday looking for their first win in Big Ten play. While losses to Alabama and Michigan were somewhat expected, Maryland’s 27-10 win over Wisconsin at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison on Sept. 20 was alarming.
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    Per Pete Nakos of On3 Sports, pressure is mounting for Wisconsin to fire third-year head coach Luke Fickell despite his pricey $25 million buyout. Even if the program doesn’t fire Fickell, there could be changes coming to Wisconsin’s administration.
    “With a $25 million buyout, it’s unclear if Wisconsin will make a move on Luke Fickell this season, even though pressure continues to mount,” Nakos wrote. “Sources have mentioned a possible change in administration, while Badger Blitz’s Evan Flood has reported that an idea being floated around is to hire a more hands-on/powerful general manager, who would make the big decisions on the football program.
    “Wisconsin hosts Iowa this weekend for its homecoming game; how the Badgers look will be important in front of their fans. If Wisconsin moves on from Fickell, it would be the second-highest in college football history. That would not be an easy move for Wisconsin to make; however, they can pay the buyout in monthly installments.”
    Fickell ran a successful program at Cincinnati before joining the Badgers. He went 57-18 with the Bearcats, then a member of the AAC, leading the program to an appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2021.
    That success hasn’t transferred to Wisconsin, even though Fickell has he resources of a Big Ten program. He’s gone 15-16 overall and 8-12 in conference play during his time with the Badgers. Fickell’s best season with Wisconsin came in 2023, when the Badgers went 7-6 and made the 2024 ReliaQuest Bowl, which they lost 35-31 to LSU.