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adam ritenberg
multiple authors
wisconsin Football coach Luke Fickell, at his request, was not among the coaches receiving the customary one-year extension from the school’s athletic board on Wednesday as he focuses on better results in 2026.
The University grants extensions to keep instructors’ contracts up to their original term.
Athletic director Chris McIntosh said in a statement to ESPN that Fickell asked him not to put an extension on the table. Fickell received one-year extensions in 2023 and 2024, with his contract currently running until March 2032.
Fickell is just 17-21 with the Badgers after consecutive losing seasons, which had not happened at Wisconsin since 1991 and 1992.
“I respect his request and have determined that the existing terms of Luke’s contract will be maintained,” McIntosh said in the statement. “Luke is solely focused on a successful 2026 campaign. There is no one more competitive than Luke, and he holds himself to the highest standards. He is committed to meeting and exceeding the expectations of everyone associated with Wisconsin – his own, the team’s, the university’s, alumni, supporters, fans and the entire state.”
McIntosh, who hired Fickell at the end of 2022 and gave him a seven-year contract, said in November that the coach would return in 2026 despite a six-game losing streak that included consecutive home shutouts against them. iowa And Ohio State.
In announcing Fickell’s return, McIntosh said that Wisconsin would increase its investment toward infrastructure, personnel and roster building.
“He continues to have our full support and, as we shared widely late last year, Luke is making needed changes to the program, our department is increasing its investment and we are joined with campus leadership in our commitment to football success,” McIntosh said in the statement.
Wisconsin’s athletic board approved one-year contract extensions Wednesday for volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield and football coaches Paula Wilkins and Neal Jones, making their contracts five years.
