Pressure building on Wisconsin chancellor to make changes to football program

Frustration from Wisconsin Badgers fans over the football team's struggles is boiling up to chancellor Jennifer Mnookin at the top of the organization chart

Wisconsin head football coach Luke Fickell, right, joins athletic director Chris McIntosh, left, and Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin at a welcome event Monday, November 28, 2022. at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

Frustration from Wisconsin Badgers fans over the football team's struggles is boiling up to the top of the organization chart.

What started as Camp Randall Stadium chants to "Fire Fickell" have moved to criticism of athletic director Chris McIntosh and now the head of the University of Wisconsin.

Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin is the latest administrator to receive public pressure over the Badgers' losing streak.

She took the field during halftime of the loss to Iowa, and when she was introduced on the video board, the crowd booed her too.

Now, that displeasure is being extended to social media, where prominent alumni are calling her out.

Related: Who would be Wisconsin Badgers interim head coach if Luke Fickell is fired in-season?

The big name that got it started on Wednesday was Dan "Big Cat" Katz of Barstool Sports, who tagged Mnookin on X (formerly known as Twitter) to demand that she fix the football program.

Hey @uwchancellor start caring about football as much as literally every alumni from your university does. Fix it!

— Big Cat (@BarstoolBigCat) October 15, 2025

Then, former basketball star Sam Dekker chimed in with a lack of confidence Mnookin's leadership.

Lmao unfortunately this will never happen with her https://t.co/srJiZrT9W7

— Sam Dekker (@dekker) October 15, 2025

As chancellor, she oversees all of UW-Madison, which includes the athletic department.

She is technically McIntosh's boss and will certainly be involved in whatever decisions happen with the contracts for the athletic director and Luke Fickell.

The desperation is increasing for Badgers fans who are unhappy with the state of the football program.

Mnookin is far from being the face of the program, but she has the power to make the changes Wisconsin fans want to see.

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