Wisconsin Badgers head football coach Luke Fickell was paid handsomely to leave Cincinnati, come to Madison, and rebuild the Badgers program.
Athletic Director Chris McIntosh demonstrated that the Wisconsin Badgers were willing to offer competitive, high-dollar compensation to recruit one of the nation’s most successful program builders away from the team he led to the College Football Playoffs.
This move was made in part to give Wisconsin a head start in re-shaping its football program and recruiting department from the top to the bottom for the new-look Big Ten that will now feature 18 teams.