Wisconsin head football coach Luke Fickell’s contract was not extended by the University of Wisconsin Athletic Board Wednesday at his request.
A formality, the university annually renews contracts for top coaches in a longstanding effort to maintain stability and discourage outside buyouts.
Wisconsin Athletic Director Chris McIntosh said Fickell requested his contract extension not be up for consideration in December shortly after the season ended, one where the Badgers finished 4-8 and missed a bowl game for the second-straight year.
"Luke is completely focused on a successful 2026 campaign. There is no one more competitive than Luke, and he holds himself to the highest standards,” McIntosh said on Wednesday.
Fickell agreed to a seven-year contract with a $7.8 million average annual salary when he started at Wisconsin in 2022. Not extending Fickell’s contract means he is working under a six-year contract that runs through 2032, having received one-year extensions in 2024 and 2025.
McIntosh announced that Fickell would return for the 2026 season in November despite a disappointing fall season, committing to “more Athletics-funded investments” to solve Badger football’s issues.
"He continues to have our full support and, as we shared widely at the end of last year, Luke is making the necessary changes in the program, our department is increasing our investment and we are aligned with campus leadership in our commitment to football success,” McIntosh said.
In the offseason, Badger football has put that money to use, compiling a top-20 transfer class that includes quarterback Colton Joseph, running back Abu Sama and cornerback Bryce West.
The UW Athletic Board approved one-year contract extensions for volleyball coach Kelly Sheffield, women’s soccer coach Paula Wilkins and men’s soccer coach Neil Jones, extending each through Jan. 31, 2031.
Nick Bumgardner is the managing editor of The Daily Cardinal. He previously served as features editor, and wrote for the state and campus news desks as a senior staff writer on rural issues, the 2024 presidential election and the UW System budget. He has written in-depth on labor policy, UW campus closures and local Madison persons of interest. You can follow him on Twitter at @nickbum_.
Noe Goldhaber is the editor-in-chief for The Daily Cardinal. She previously served as college news editor and copy chief. She is a Statistics and Journalism major and lead coverage on the 2024 pro-Palestine encampment and specialized in campus labor, student housing, free speech and campus administration. She has done data analysis and visualization for the Cardinal on a number of stories, and will intern with Wisconsin Watch this summer. Follow her on Twitter at @noegoldhaber.
