Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell says ‘it’s not easy to lose a friend’ after McIntosh’s exit

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell acknowledged Tuesday he was disappointed about the departure of athletic director Chris McIntosh, but doesn't believe his friend leaving will have a major impact on his future with the Badgers.

Fickell was going to have to start producing more victories regardless.

"I think the easiest thing for us right now is to understand you've got to win," Fickell said after a morning practice. "We're not beating around the bush."

Fickell spoke one day after the announcement that McIntosh was leaving Wisconsin to take a newly created job as the Big Ten's deputy commissioner for strategy. McIntosh, who had been Wisconsin's athletic director since the summer of 2021, hired Fickell and continued to back him as the Badgers went 9-15 over the last two seasons.

Fickell said McIntosh had let him know "last week at some point in time" about the possibility of this move. Fickell added that "it's not easy to lose a friend."

"Anytime there are changes with people you know were in your corner, it's always a little difficult, disappointing, whatever you want to say," Fickell said. "But so is life. You've got to be able to move and continue to go on."

Marcus Sedberry, who had been Wisconsin's deputy athletic director/chief operating officer, is working as interim athletic director until a permanent successor for McIntosh is announced. Sedberry previously worked at Baylor, Arkansas and Central Florida as well as with the Philadelphia Eagles.

"When you've been to other places and seen how things are done, you get a lot of experiences - good and bad - you take a lot of things in, you recognize how things are done," Fickell said. "I think that's one of the great things about Marcus. He's been in the NFL. He's been in several different spots."

McIntosh hired Fickell away from Cincinnati at the end of the 2022 regular season after firing Paul Chryst that October. The move earned rave reviews at the time because Fickell had gone 53-10 in his last five seasons at Cincinnati and had led the Bearcats to a College Football Playoff berth in 2021.

Fickell has gone 17-21 at Wisconsin thus far. The Badgers were 4-8 last year after going 5-7 in 2024, snapping what had been a Power Four-leading streak of 22 straight winning seasons.

McIntosh continually stood behind Fickell.

He made public comments supporting Fickell after a 27-10 home loss to Maryland in September. After Wisconsin was shut out at home against Iowa and Ohio State in consecutive October weekends, McIntosh sent a letter to season-ticket holders saying the school planned to increase its investment in its football program to "provide our coaches the tools necessary to succeed."

Wisconsin had lost six straight games when McIntosh said Fickell would remain as coach beyond the 2025 season. The Badgers responded by splitting their final four games with wins over then-No. 24 Washington (No. 23 College Football Playoff) and Illinois (then-No. 21 CFP).

McIntosh's promise to increase Wisconsin's football investment also helped the Badgers add 34 transfers - including 27 from other Football Bowl Subdivision programs - this offseason.

Fickell said it was helpful to have an athletic director he knew so well but added that the expectations don't change after McIntosh's departure.

"We all understand this is big-boy ball and this is big business," Fickell said. "It comes down to doing your job and doing it really well. ... In the spots where I've been, there's been different relationships with each AD. I think each one of them are unique. However it goes and whatever it is, what helps the relationship best of all is having success on the field and having a good product. I don't think that's going to change."

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