Barry Alvarez to retire in June
MADISON, Wis. (BVM) — It has been expected for almost a week now and today it was made official. Longtime University of Wisconsin football coach and athletic director, Barry Alvarez, will retire on June 30.
“It has been an honor to be a part of Wisconsin Athletics and I take great pride in all we have accomplished over the last three decades,” Alvarez said in a statement Tuesday. “From championships, to improvements on campus, to impacting thousands of student-athletes, it’s been a great ride. I’m grateful for the support, generosity, enthusiasm and loyalty of Badgers in the state of Wisconsin and beyond. Thank you.”
Over the last three decades, Alvarez has had almost an unquantifiable effect on the Badger’s athletic department.
In football, he took a program that went 1-10 in his first year as coach in 1990 and within four years they were winning the Rose Bowl. He then helped Wisconsin make history as the only Big Ten team to win back-to-back Rose Bowls in 1999 and 2000.
Even after stepping down as head coach in 2005, he made two more appearances as head coach for the Badgers in the 2012 Rose Bowl and then the 2014 Outback Bowl. In all, he finishes with 119-74-4 as Wisconsin’s head football coach. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010.
As an athletic director, Alvarez has helped usher in an era of athletic success in Wisconsin that has brought national recognition to Madison and earned him the 2017-18 Under Armour Athletic Director of the Year award.
During his time as AD Badger teams have won a combined 16 national championships and 74 regular season or tournament conference titles. The department as a whole also finished in the top 30 in the Directors’ Cup 15 times.
We are what we are today because of him
After 32 years of leadership and excellence, Barry Alvarez is announcing his retirement
Thanks for everything, Coach! pic.twitter.com/sMrDO0CBaz
— Wisconsin Badgers (@UWBadgers) April 6, 2021
Alvarez turned 74 last December.
