As UW-Madison Football head coach Barry Alvarez's coaching career comes to an end after 16 solid years, his impact on UW-Madison football will forever remain a legacy.
To acknowledge Alvarez's numerous accomplishments, Mueller Sports Medicine and Quench Gum created 'The World's Largest Thank You Note' in his honor.
Throughout Madison and Dane County, the 'thank you note' includes 31 roadside billboards.
There are two large billboards on the Beltline thanking Alvarez for his '16 Thrilling Seasons' and 29 smaller boards throughout Dane Country highlighting his many accomplishments: 'Three Rose Bowl Victories, 'Seven Bowl Championships' and 'Three Big 10 Championships.'
'We wanted to acknowledge Coach Alvarez's impact on the University of Wisconsin, city of Madison, the state of Wisconsin, the athletic department and especially the football program,' said Mark Lutz, a representative of Mueller Sports Medicine.
Lutz explained the football players' use of their products helped the company to play a role in the UW-Madison football program. In return, Mueller Sports Medicine and Quench Gum wanted to emphasize their 'growing pride' and support of Alvarez's coaching throughout the years.
'This is our way of saying, 'Thanks Barry, job well done,'' Lutz said.
'I think the huge acknowledgement of Alvarez's retirement is so great because he's played such a significant role for our football team; he deserves a huge thanks,' said sophomore Lisa Eisenberg, who witnessed the 'thank you' billboards off the beltline.
'I knew him since the day he came here. He's helped us endorse our Quench gum,' Mueller Sports Medicine owner Curt Mueller said. He said, because of Coach Alvarez's help, 'We just wanted to thank him for everything.'
The large billboards will stay up for a month and the smaller billboards will be up for approximately 10 days.
Though Alvarez is retiring at the end of this football season after 16 years as the head football coach, he will continue his position as athletic director of the university.
