In the midst of a disappointing season, Wisconsin has ruled on the status of head coach Luke Fickell.
Will Luke Fickell Return Next Season?
NEWS: Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell will return to coach the Badgers in 2026, athletic director Chris McIntosh tells ESPN. The move comes with significant increase in financial investment. https://t.co/8S4JlAIBJH
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) November 6, 2025
With the Badgers at 2-6, Fickell was believed to be on the hot seat the rest of the season.
Wisconsin squashed those rumors rather quickly.
In a statement to ESPN, Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh announced that Fickell will return as the head coach in 2026.
“Chancellor [Jennifer] Mnookin and I are aligned on significantly elevating investment in our program to compete at highest level,” McIntosh told ESPN. “We are willing to make an investment in infrastructure and staff. As important is our ability to retain and recruit players in a revenue share and NIL era.”
Fickell’s contract runs through the 2031 season. If Wisconsin fired Fickell this year, his buyout would be over $25 million.
In the NIL era, teams with expensive rosters typically succeed. Ohio State won the national championship last year with a roster worth over $20 million.
That’s the state of college football in 2025. In order to play, you need to pay. Wisconsin plans to follow suit.
“If Wisconsin is going to be as competitive as we expect, the support has to be as competitive,” McIntosh said. “There’s no getting around it. Our people, our fans, are passionate about Wisconsin football. I’d have it no other way. A successful football program is important to university, the state, and our lettermen.”
McIntosh added, “Our intention is to be, in terms of our investment, on par with those that we intend to compete with. Our expectations are to compete at the highest level in the Big Ten and beyond.”
Luke Fickell’s Rocky Tenure at Wisconsin
"It's disgusting… Saturday's don't exist anymore!"@BenBrust reacts to today's news that Luke Fickell will return in 2026.@ESPNMadison | @ESPNMilwaukee | @ESPNbd https://t.co/AR559pauqs pic.twitter.com/3LTnys05ce
— Kyle, Brust, and Nortman (@KBNESPN) November 6, 2025
After six excellent seasons at Cincinnati, which included a trip to the College Football Playoff, Fickell left the program in November 2022 to take the head coaching position at Wisconsin. Fickell signed a seven-year deal and makes about $7.8 million annually.
Fickell has been a disappointment compared to the expectations the program had when they hired him. Fickell is 15-19 in three seasons.
It’s a small sample size, but Fickell has won 44.1% of his games with the Badgers. For comparison, the previous coach, Paul Chryst, went 67-26, winning 72.0% of his games.
The Badgers are currently 2-6, with a 0-5 record in the Big 10. The Badgers have not won a game since defeating Middle Tennessee on Sept. 6.
The Badgers host No. 23 Washington (6-2) on Nov. 8.
