state are available and can be found by calling 211.
Season tickets for UW football went on sale this
week. The Badgers are coming off consecutive
losing seasons, and last fall, fans at Camp Randall
were chanting to fire head coach Luke Fickell. The
football program generates $60 million in profits each
year to fund the entire athletic department, and a
study last fall estimated a loss in fan support from a
losing team could lead to more than $100 million of
losses in state and local revenue. Earlier this week,
“Here& Now” senior political reporter Zac
Schultz sat down with UW Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin
and athletic director Chris McIntosh to discuss the
state of the football team and the ever changing
landscape of college athletics.
>> Chancellor Mnookin Athletic Director McIntosh.
Thanks for joining us, both of you.
Great to be here. >> So, Chancellor, let's
start with you. It's been a few months since we heard
the student section chanting to fire the coach.
What have you seen since then that gives you faith
that the decision to keep the coach was the right one.
>> Well. >> For one thing, we saw
two pretty great victories after that moment against
both Illinois and Washington. But more
generally, I think that while last season's
football performance wasn't what any of us would wish
for, and it's what we have to do better than that,
there's no question about that. But I also think that
what we've seen is that this team can pull together
the resources, the discipline and the know how
to help Badger football perform at the level that
all of us rightly expected to.
>> Athletic director McIntosh. We've seen
headlines about the new recruits coming in through
the transfer portal, but what have you seen from
inside the building that gives you faith that this
next team is going to perform a lot better?
>> Well, I mean, there's a lot of excitement around
the players that have committed to play at
Wisconsin. It's been fast and furious. For those
Badger fans that have been following the news, it's
it's been a flurry of activity. You know, at this
point in the season, I feel satisfied that we had a
plan and we were able to execute it. And I think we
did well in this environment of college
athletics and its dependance on the portal.
At the same time, while I'm excited, you know, we
haven't played a snap yet and we're looking forward
to getting those kids on campus and getting getting
to work. And and they'll get to work right away. And
so it's a, you know, the beginning of a new season
for us. There's optimism and excitement. And like
the Chancellor said, there's high expectations.
And we all understand that. We embrace that.
>> Chancellor. There's a lot of things that you have
to deal with. As the chancellor of the
University of Wisconsin, national issues have never
been hotter than before. How do you view the
athletic department? Is is it something that would be
a lot easier if it was something that didn't draw
that much of your attention? >> I think, first of all,
that we're really proud to be a school that has an
amazing athletic tradition, and we're really committed
to our athletic future. We're really proud of the
student athlete experience, and we're proud of the way
that athletics is a great part of being a student at
UW-Madison, whether or not you're a student athlete.
And also it's a front porch to the university for the
whole state of Wisconsin and well beyond. It's an
absolutely critical part of who we are. It's not the
only part of who we are. Some fans might think
otherwise on that, but we do have teaching and
research mission to. But athletics is absolutely
central to the identity of what it means to be
Wisconsin and what it means to be a badger.
>> We've saw Indiana win a national title in football,
a program that for years was a doormat in the Big
Ten. Does that change the expectation for what we
should expect out of Wisconsin football?
>> I don't think it changes the expectation. I think it
demonstrates what's possible, which is which is
much different today than it was not a long time ago.
You know, it's a I mean, first of all,
congratulations to Indiana and kudos to everything
they've accomplished. >> And go.
>> Big Ten. >> Yeah, absolutely. But,
you know, it wasn't long ago in which the which
optimism around the program revolved around the high
school kids that you were recruiting and maybe just
maybe four years from now, we'll see the the fruits of
that. And and that's just not the world we're living
in now. And so, you know, their turnaround in a two
year span, while unprecedented, creates
optimism for us and excitement. And you know,
they have their strategy. And it's obviously worked.
We're executing ours. And we're optimistic and
excited about ours. >> For decades, the
standard at Wisconsin was to compete for Big Ten
titles and hopefully in the right scenario, win a
national title. Is that still the standard?
>> Yes. >> Is that still the
standard. >> So in that sense, you
you gave the athletic director a contract
extension last year and he's the one calling the
shots here. What is your confidence level in him,
and will he be making the ultimate decisions on who
runs the football program here?
>> Yes, I mean, Mac is, I think, a first rate
athletic director. We've we've all we've had some
bumps. This is a wild ride in college athletics right
now. Moore has changed over the last couple of years
than really in decades. It's still very much in
flux. So, you know, it's not altogether surprising
that there will be and can be bumps in the road. What
we need is somebody passionate, committed and
strategic who also will be accountable for the
program's success. And I have every faith that Mac
is going to execute on that successfully.
>> There are fans out there that say, well, one of the
reasons that you kept Coach Fickell is because you were
the one that hired him and you. It would look awkward
if you admitting a mistake to let him go. Is there any
basis in that? >> No, I mean, I, I
understand and and I appreciate the frustration
of our fans sharing it, but I think, you know, my job
was to try to determine what it will take to move
us forward and to be successful. And when we
looked every aspect of our program, certainly with the
leadership in our football program, Coach Fickell, and
we weighed that against what we need to be
successful in the future. We realized that we have a
great coach here. We need to do more to invest in the
program. Like the Chancellor said, my goal is
to position this program to be successful in the long
run, and there's no room for pride in that.
>> It's part of the landscape that's changed is
nil, and the media money and the things that have
changed drastically everywhere is Wisconsin.
Were they behind in terms of adapting to that new
landscape? Were they playing by a different set
of rules than other universities? May have
taken advantage of how nil was supposed to be used?
>> Well, I can say this. You know, we welcomed the
House settlement last July, and that was an opportunity
for us to share revenues directly with student
athletes, a way for us to maybe influence our own
destiny in ways that we hadn't been able to before,
in the time since House, since that settlement was
finalized and took effect, the world has been has gone
through even more change. And so we continue to adapt
and we continue to iterate. I think we have along the
way. But there's no doubt, like we announced last fall,
there was a need to invest more in football. And
that's what we did. And and that's what we've been
executing. And I think, you know, the progress we've
shown and the success we've had in the portal, just
this last week is the first step of many that show the
progress we're making. >> The one thing I would
add to that is we welcome the house settlement. We
welcome the chance to be able to support athletes
directly. And I think we would be we would both
welcome. And I think, frankly, many schools would
welcome a system that did have clearer guardrails and
greater clarity about what was and wasn't permitted.
We are operating all of us in something of a wild West
right now. That's not the structural environment that
I think is really ideal for the future success of
college athletics. That's not a Wisconsin issue.
That's not a Big Ten issue. That's not even an NCAA
issue. That's now a national dynamic. But I
would love to see greater clarity and rules emerge
that would ensure that we were all playing by the
same rulebook about what was and wasn't allowed.
>> The Big Ten has been negotiating a deal with
private equity brokers for a 10% stake in media rights.
It's been rumored to be up to $2.4 billion. Do you
support that deal. >> At this point, there's
no deal under active consideration, as has been
publicly reported. We were in conversations with
actually a pension fund, not not exactly private
equity, about a minority stake in a new enterprise.
I think that the question of how we can work together
as a conference to ask, are there revenue and growth
opportunities where we can come together to add
collective value? I think that's a really important
conversation for us to continue to have.
>> As you travel and speak with alumni, do they bring
up sports to you? Is that one of the. Sure.
>> Of course they do. >> And do they bring up the
successes? I mean, Wisconsin football is that
part of like one of some of the first and earliest
conversations? >> I've had lots of
conversations about Wisconsin football. I've
had lots of conversations about other aspects of
Wisconsin athletics. It's definitely something that
alums talk to me about and sometimes make their
feelings known in, in strong terms. And there's
also a lot of people who believe in this institution
and what we're trying to do athletically and more
generally. That's one of the incredible, really
positive things about the Wisconsin culture and
environment. Wherever you travel, there are badgers
everywhere, and there's usually badgers with, with,
with, with opinions and strong feelings and ideas.
But whether those whether they're happy with what
you're doing or whether they're unhappy, that comes
from a place of caring about the institution and
its future and believing in it. And that's that's
special sauce. That's something really wonderful.
>> And bringing this full circle back to the football
team and looking ahead to next year. There are people
we talked about what is the standard, but there are
some people that I've talked to that said, well,
it's got to be bowl or bust in terms of the success for
the coach next year, is that a sentiment that's
fair for fans to have that a winning record and a bowl
season should be the minimum.
for our coaches and our athletic director, and I
understand that our fan base does as well.
>> Is bowl or bust. Is that a fair sentiment?
>> I don't think our expectations have changed,
and I think our intent is to compete at the highest
level. I think, like I said, we've put a plan in place
that we feel optimistic will will allow us to do
that. >> Right now. Usually the
coaches from the fall get an extension on their
contract, and it's usually announced somewhere in
February or March. Will there be a one year
extension on Coach Fickell's contract?
>> I think that's a conversation that we should
take up in February. >> All right. Jagler
Mnookin JD McIntosh. Thanks Mnookin JD McIntosh. Thanks