Recap: Luke Fickell's introductory press conference at Wisconsin
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After officially hiring Luke Fickell to be the program's 31st head football coach on Sunday evening, the University of Wisconsin threw a welcome party and introductory press conference on Monday afternoon.
Both Athletic Director Chris McIntosh and Luke Fickell took turns answering questions from local media members, sharing their insights on how the move came to be and their plans for the future.
Here is an overview of what was said during the welcome event and Fickell's introductory press conference.
Welcome event
After a long list of thank yous from Fickell, he had this to say about his message to the team:
"Change is inevitable. Right, there is change in all of our lives. Growth is what's optional. and we have to choose to grow. There is a lot of change in my life as well, and I know for us in particular as a group of men, together we are all going to be growing together through this change."
On the last 48 hours...Fickell said:
"It's difficult, there are an array of emotions."
On the hiring process, AD Chris McIntosh said:
"It was a long process, and it was thorough. I was so pleased, I was excited by the interest in this position, in this job."
Chris McIntosh on Name, Image, and Likeness...
"For a long time there's been a history at the University of Wisconsin, in our department, of fully supporting what's permissible to our student athletes. NIL is the newest development in that arena. We have taken the approach to embrace it, and I think it's been a healthy thing for our student athletes, for our players that are here. We will continue to embrace, continue to emphasize, and continue to endorse [our players]."
Luke Fickell on the upcoming bowl game and his approach...
"I sat down with Jim [Leonhard] yesterday for a good while and we're trying to kind of map out how this whole thing would. I was unique to have been through one of these kind of processes in 2011 and learned a lot from it."
Luke Fickell on his role with the team with the bowl prep...
"We don't know exactly what that will look like, moving in the next three weeks, but I promised them this, that I will be part of it, coaching in some way, shape or form. We will figure out what that means. If that means I am coaching the punter or the nose guards, I am going to be around these guys, I'm going to have the ability to coach and get to know them to build that trust, respect, and love."
You can watch the welcome event in it's entirety here:
Introductory Press Conference
Luke Fickell's opening statement...
"This is obviously a whirlwind, I know for everyone in here when you end a season and things turn around this fast, this quick, but it's the world that we live in. It's things we have to do in order to maintain our program, our kids. To give them clarity and to move forward. That's my greatest objective right now. I spent 4-5 hours today visiting with as many kids on the team as I could, and that's what I will continue to do. Got a lot of work to do, with doing that, and I'm excited about it."
Fickell on what needs to be done at Wisconsin to improve...
"I know there is always work to be done and I think that's what excites you about a coach. I mean you can be at any program and you're not where you want to be. I mean there's one program at the end of the year that's where they want to be, and then they have a lot of work to do to be able to repeat what they're doing. It's the uniqueness of what it is we choose to do."
Continuing with that thread, Fickell discussed his overall team objective...
"I'll tell you this, and you will probably for every year at the beginning of the year. We've got one objective and one goal, to play for a championship. I said that obviously when I started at Cincinnati, and that is open-ended, but that gives you a lot of flexibility with the things you do. You have an opportunity in this league, if you are playing for a championship, amazing things can happen."
Fickell on his message to the team and building relationships with the players...
"You got to be yourself, you got to be authentic, you got to be real, and it takes time. The unique thing that I think I've got is I was in the position. I had a great relationship with a lot of guys, probably just like Jim had. I think what we do understand is that while kids are emotional, young men are emotional, they are also resilient. I've got the utmost respect for however things continue to move forward. Whatever is best for them, they will do, and I know that building a relationship is a big deal. It's not trying to overtake somebody else's relationship, which I'm not trying to do."
Fickell on recruiting pipelines and strategy...
"Within a 300-mile radius, that will be the core of what we do here. I have a good grasp on that, obviously, I have to learn a lot more about the 50-mile, 60-mile, 100-mile radius, but I know that as you get into Chicago and the areas where you have done an unbelievable job, there's a lot of roots that have built there. I know that if we can kind of capture that like we did, with that 300-mile radius where the core of the program is, then we can extend to the other areas."
Chris McIntosh on Luke Fickell's salary...
"It begins at $7.5 million and averages $7.8 million over seven years.
Luke Fickell on if he will consider keeping Jim Leonhard on his staff...
"Yes, definitely I am. I met with Jim for about an hour last night. We will meet again Wednesday. We had a great conversation. I'm very open to obviously picking his brain for a lot of things."
Luke Fickell on what the defensive scheme will look like and if he will maintain Wisconsin's 3-4 defense or shift to a 3-3-5 as he had at Cincinnati...
"I haven't envisioned a whole lot of those things yet. If you really study us for what we have done, we've adapted and adjusted for whatever we need to do. I think that that's what I've learned as much as anything over my time, is the ability to adapt and adjust. Not just to your guys, but also to what you need to do to be successful. At least I've had the good fortune of being in the Big Ten for a long time, so I do have an idea of the things you need to be able to do. So we will evaluate, we will assess, and we will definitely be a group that can go multiple in different ways."
Luke Fickell on academic standards and admissions at Wisconsin...
"We all want to put guys in situations and positions to be successful. It does us no good to bring a guy into this program, whether he's a great player or not, that can't be successful with the things and the parameters with which they got to live by. We know there's an incredible academic institution and we have to make sure that we bring guys in that can fit that standard. That doesn't mean you have to shy away, we have to take a guy that's not quite as big, not quite as fast because of an academic standard. No, but we all have to put them in a position where they can thrive and be successful. I'm excited to meet the people who are going to work with them because we know there are guys that you have to take that have challenges, and as long as you have the support to help them, and they've got the heart and the drive to do it, all things can be done. I think that all goes into your assessment of what it is you believe in a kid. You can't just look at a couple game clips and say this is the type of player he is. You can't just look at a transcript and say well okay he's a 2-whatever student so he's not very good or he's a 3.8 student so he's really good. No, you've got to dive in to know these guys a lot better and know what's within and how they're going to work."
Chris McIntosh on meeting with the team...
"I recognized and I apologized for the decisions that have contributed to the challenges of this season that just can't be overlooked. It's been the hardest part of me and it's clearly been hard on these players."
Chris McIntosh on if there is a worry about players transferring and being unable to field a competitive team for the bowl game...
"No. I mean we are excited about the bowl game and there is a rich tradition of bowl games here. We've got a 21-year streak of playing in bowl games here. There's a process that our players will go through to become more comfortable with the direction that Coach Fickell will take this program. That began last night. That started last night when we addressed them and then when Coach Fickell was left with the players to talk to them. I'm confident that we'll have a team that is fired up about the direction of our program, I don't have those kinds of concerns."
Related links:
- Luke Fickell officially hired by the University of Wisconsin
- Ten potential recruiting targets for Luke Fickell at Wisconsin in the 2023 cycle
- Q&A: Wisconsin hires Luke Fickell, the Cincinnati perspective
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