Wisconsin announces AD Barry Alvarez set to retire at the end of June

April 6, 2021
|In Badgers
|By Zach Heilprin

Wisconsin made official Tuesday what had been reported over the last week — athletic director Barry Alvarez will retire effective June 30, 2021.

“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 release from the school. “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.”

Alvarez arrived at Wisconsin in 1990 to lead a football program that had just six winning seasons in the previous 26 years and had bottomed out by winning only nine games between 1986 and 1989. After going 11-22 in his first three years, Alvarez broke through in 1993, as the Badgers went 10-1-1, won their first Big Ten title in 31 years and captured the school’s first Rose Bowl championship. It was the start of the Golden Age of Wisconsin football that continues to this day.

The re-building of that program, and the financial windfall that came with it, helped make the Badgers more competitive across the athletic department. Under Alvarez’s leadership as AD, a job he initially took on in 2004, Wisconsin teams won 16 national titles and more than 60 individual NCAA titles. In his time as AD the Badgers revenues went from $75.8 million in 2005 to $157.7 million in 2019.

“We thank Barry for his hard work, devotion to UW-Madison, and the standard of excellence he has set for our athletic program,” University of Wisconsin chancellor Rebecca Blank said in the release. “His work here has positively impacted the lives of countless student-athletes who have come through our doors.

“His leadership has also lifted our university and our state. Barry’s legacy will live on whenever Badgers take the field.”

A celebration of Alvarez’s time at Wisconsin will be held Tuesday afternoon (12:30 p.m.) and will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network.