Chris McIntosh reveals contract details for Luke Fickell

During an introductury press conference at Wisconsin on Monday, director of athletics Chris McIntosh confirmed the contract details for Luke Fickell that were first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel.

Fickell’s deal at Wisconsin will make him one of the highest-paid coaches in the sport.

“The contract is seven years,” McIntosh said. “It begins at $7.5 million, it averages $7.8 million over seven years.”

McIntosh did not discuss Luke Fickell’s buyout terms in the contract.

It’s a hefty contract for a coach whose only previous Power 5 head coaching experience came as an interim at Ohio State in 2011 after Jim Tressel stepped down and before Urban Meyer took over the program.

Of course, Fickell certainly acquitted himself well while at Cincinnati. After Tommy Tuberville resigned following a 4-8 campaign in 2016, Fickell also went 4-8 in his first season in 2017. Then the real turnaround happened.

The Bearcats won 11 games in both 2018 and 2019, then became the first Group of Five team to reach the College Football Playoff in 2021, finishing the season 13-1.

Wisconsin hopes Fickell can lead a similar turnaround, but his contract was as much an investment in the program as in him.

“Certainly it required a commitment on my part, on behalf of the department,” McIntosh explained. “From my perspective, just a recognition that this program is important, it’s a priority to us. It’s the program; we talked about this and it became so evident during COVID — this program is the lifeblood. It’s the financial engine that underwrites the cost of opportunity for 800 kids, and it needs to be operating at a championship level.”

Contract details for Luke Fickell underscore Wisconsin’s faith in him

If there’s one thing that’s pretty clear based on the contract details for Luke Fickell, it’s that the Badgers are putting some significant financial backing behind the move.

That stems, in part, from the overall goal of making sure the program remains competitive at a high enough level to power the entire athletics department. But it’s also partly about the shared vision McIntosh and Fickell had while discussing the job.

“I think the most comforting aspect of the conversations I’ve had with Luke is partnership in determining where are the areas in which we need to bring up to speed, improve on, both operationally within our football program, recruiting is one area there, but also in terms of capital projects — it’s no secret that we’re pursuing a new indoor practice facility that will be a huge asset to us — to NIL opportunities and embracing a changing world and my support of The Varsity Collective.

“That’s three areas of countless areas in which we’ll partner and work together and make sure that everything we do is living up to the expectation of winning championships in this program.”