Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh leaving for Big Ten office job | Reports
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Chris McIntosh’s days as Wisconsin’s athletic director are done.
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The Wisconsin State Journal and Sports Business Journal published reports Sunday, April 12 that McIntosh is leaving UW for a senior role in the Big Ten Conference.
The State Journal report said deputy athletic director Marcus Sedberry, who also serves as the football general manager, will serve as interim athletic director. The State Journal also reported the search for a new AD will be led by Eric Wilcots, who will become the interim chancellor after Jennifer Mnookin departs at the end of the school year to become the president of Columbia University.
McIntosh confirmed his departure to the Sports Business Journal.
"On one hand it’s very difficult for me to transition away from a place that’s so important to me," McIntosh said. "On the other hand, it’s an incredible honor and an incredible opportunity to be able to transition to a position at the Big Ten and to work for an incredible leader like Commissioner (Tony) Petitti and alongside some top-tier, very capable members of the Big Ten as we navigate a dynamic period for college athletics."
McIntosh and a UW spokesman did not return calls from the Journal Sentinel, part of USA TODAY Network.
McIntosh is in the second year of a five-year contract extension that paid him $1.5 million this school year.
The move ends his five-year run as athletic director. During that time he hired football coach Luke Fickell, men's hockey coach Mike Hastings and women’s basketball coach Robin Pingeton.
Fickell has a 17-21 overall record and led the Badgers to their first back-to-back losing seasons since the early 1990s. Hastings, on the other hand, recently took the Badgers to the Frozen Four before losing to Denver in the national championship, and Pingeton helped UW reach the WBIT semifinals in her first season.
McIntosh's tenure has also been marked by the fund-raising campaign that led to the construction of the Kellner Family Athletic Center, a $285 million project that will be home of the new indoor football facility. That facility partially opens this summer.
McIntosh also made the call to retain Fickell as he was in the midst of his second straight losing season and lobbied for the recently approved legislation that will provide $14.6 million in annual taxpayer funding for the UW athletic department.
Under his leadership, the athletic department also placed a greater emphasis on having a presence in the Milwaukee area.
The department resumed its holiday hockey showcase, partnering with Kwik Trip, during his tenure. The volleyball and men’s basketball teams have also played regular season games at the Fiserv Forum.
McIntosh’s departure is the later chapter in a relationship with Wisconsin that dates back to his days as a college athlete.
The Pewaukee native played football for the Badgers from 1996-1999, winning Big Ten championships in ’98 and ’99. He started 50 straight games for the Badgers, served as a captain of the ’99 team and went on to be a first-round draft pick of Seattle.
He joined the Wisconsin athletic department in 2014 and served as the deputy director to Barry Alvarez from 2017-21.
Under McIntosh's leadership, the athletic department also place a greater emphasis on having a presence in the Milwaukee area.
The department resumed its holiday hockey showcase, partnering with Kwik Trip. The men's basketball team played an exhibition and regular season game at Fiserv Forum and the volleyball team is scheduled to play at the arena in the American Volleyball Coaches Association First Serve Aug. 21-23.
Challenges facing McIntosh’s successor include UW’s competitiveness in the NIL landscape, a rebuild of the football program as Fickell heads into his fourth season and the potential fallout from an ongoing lawsuit filed for psychological abuse by five former players against former women's basketball coach Marisa Moseley and former athletic administrator Justin Doherty.
McIntosh is leaving at a time of change for the university. Along with Mnookin's upcoming departure to go to Columbia University, Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman was recently fired.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chris McIntosh leaving Wisconsin for Big Ten job