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Wisconsin officially announces the hiring of Luke Fickell

Former Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell is the 31st head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers football program.

Matt Belz

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After reports surfaced earlier Sunday that Luke Fickell had emerged as the top candidate for the Wisconsin Badgers head coaching position, the University of Wisconsin made things official later Sunday evening. 

The 49-year-old head coach comes to Wisconsin after six seasons at Cincinnati, where he helped build the Bearcats into the top team in the American Athletic Conference. 

At Cincinnati, Fickell finished with a 57-18 overall record, including a 44-7 record from 2018-2021 with a pair of AAC Conference Championships in 2020 and 2021. The Bearcats became the first non-Power 5 team to make the College Football Playoff in 2021, and just recently had nine players drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft. 

In a press release by UW, Fickell said this about taking on the new role with the Badgers:

"My family and I are thrilled to join the Wisconsin family. This is a destination job at a program that I have admired from afar for years. I am in total alignment with Chris McIntosh's vision for this program. There is a tremendous foundation here that I can't wait to build upon. This world-class university, athletic department and passionately loyal fan base all have a strong commitment to success and I can't wait to be a part of it."

Known for his ability to recruit and develop talent, Fickell has a hand in developing cornerback Sauce Gardner of the New York Jets, who was the No. 4 overall pick last season, and he has elevated the state of Cincinnati recruiting with the No. 27 class in the country for 2023. 

A former Ohio State defensive lineman, Fickell began his coaching career with the Buckeyes as a graduate assistant in 1999 and spent two seasons as a defensive line coach at Akron before returning to OSU in 2002. 

With the Buckeyes, Fickell became one of the top assistant coaches in the country based on his recruiting abilities and he was co-defensive coordinator for Ohio State from 2005 to 2016. 

The hiring of Fickell comes as a shock to many, as he previously turned down other significant opportunities including the Michigan State job to remain at Cincinnati, and most around the Wisconsin program believed that Jim Leonhard would retain the role vacated by Paul Chryst. 

According to Football Scoop, Fickell is expected to bring with him Cincinnati's head of sports performance, Brady Collins, as well as recruiting personnel Pat Lambert and Max Stienecker. 

With the suddenness of the announcement, it will be interesting to see how things shake out for Wisconsin under Fickell in the coming weeks. The Badgers were previously involved with several of Cincinnati's top commits, such as cornerback Amare Snowden, linebacker Trevor Carter, and wide receiver Ty Perkins among others. With under a month until signing day, Fickell has the tall task of recruiting players to Wisconsin on short notice and navigating the transfer portal with players from both Cincinnati and Wisconsin likely to move. 

It is clear that Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh was looking to make a significant change at the top after relieving Paul Chryst of his job, and Fickell is widely regarded in national circles as one of the top coaches in all of college football. Fickell's ability as a recruiter could bring about big changes at Wisconsin, and it will now be fascinating to see what the staff looks like and how this impacts the current players and coaches on the roster. 

In a press release shared by UW, McIntosh had this to say about the hiring of Fickell:

"Luke is one of the top football coaches in the country. He is a proven winner, recruiter and developer of players. Equally as important, he shares our values. Coach Fickell is focused on giving our student-athletes the best opportunities possible and is attuned to the changing landscape of college athletics."

You can see Fickell's entire coaching history below:

  • Graduate assistant at Ohio State (1999)
  • Defensive line coach at Akron (2000-2001)
  • Special teams coach at Ohio State (2002-2003)
  • Linebackers coach at Ohio State (2004)
  • Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Ohio State (2005-2010)
  • Interim head coach at Ohio State (2011)
  • Co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Ohio State (20012-2016)
  • Head coach at Cincinnati (2017-2022)

All Badgers will be in attendance for tomorrow's introductory press conference for Luke Fickell, which is scheduled to occur just after 4 p.m. on Monday. 

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Matt Belz
MATT BELZ

Title: Publisher, Beat Writer for AllBadgers.com, a Sports Illustrated Channel Hello, my name is Matt Belz, and I am the site manager at All Badgers. I previously wrote for multiple years at Buckeyes 5th Quarter and have been the leading publisher here since March of 2022.  When I am not covering the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams, I enjoy being outside and spending time with family and friends.  You can follow everything I write about on several different platforms. First and foremost on our site...AllBadgers.com You can follow me personally on Twitter at @savedbythebelz or check out our Facebook page at Wisconsin FanNation on Sports Illustrated.

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