Wisconsin Spent Big to Fix Its Football Program

Wisconsin had a decision to make after going 4-8 last season.

The Badgers could move on from Luke Fickell after a second straight losing season or give him another year and try to fix some of the problems around the program.

They chose the second option, and apparently they weren't messing around.

Front Office Sports reported Thursday on just how much has changed at Wisconsin over the past year. There's more money available, a new Under Armour deal, 33 players came in through the transfer portal and Wisconsin made several additions to its personnel department.

The Badgers are now 5-2, 3-1 in the Big Ten and ranked again.

I'm not going to say spending more money is the reason Wisconsin is winning football games. But after watching this program struggle the last two years, I don't think it's a coincidence that the Badgers invested more and the roster got better.

Wisconsin Put More Behind Fickell

Luke FIckell — Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell talks with players during the game against USC, Oct. 24, 2026, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The number that jumped out to me from the Front Office Sports report was $14.6 million.

That's how much the state is providing each year toward debt payments on Wisconsin athletic facilities. According to FOS, that effectively opened up the equivalent amount of money for Wisconsin to put toward revenue sharing with athletes.

Wisconsin also agreed to a new 10-year, $104.5 million deal with Under Armour. The agreement includes at least $175,000 annually for NIL endorsements and appearances.

College football has changed pretty quickly. Programs are paying players directly now, the transfer portal can change a roster in one offseason and schools that don't keep up are going to have a hard time competing.

Wisconsin hit the portal hard. The Badgers brought in 33 transfers, more than they had added in any previous offseason under Fickell.

They made changes off the field, too. Former Indianapolis Colts executive Morrocco Brown was hired as general manager, and Wisconsin added more people to its personnel department.

Fickell talked about all the changes at Big Ten media days.

"There's a lot of things that have changed even within the last year in our program," Fickell said. "Over the last nine months, there's been a hell of a lot of changes."

He wasn't kidding.

So Far, It's Working

Seven games isn't enough for me to say Wisconsin has fixed everything.

I still can't explain how a team that beat Penn State and USC went to UCLA and scored seven points in a 17-7 loss. That's one of the reasons I've been hesitant to completely buy into the Badgers.

But they're 5-2.

They just beat No. 16 USC 24-7, and the defense made the Trojans look bad doing it. Wisconsin held USC to minus-18 rushing yards, had five sacks and forced two interceptions.

That's also the second ranked win of the season after beating Penn State.

There's more money going into the facilities as well. The $285 million Kellner Family Athletic Center is under construction and will give Wisconsin a new indoor football field, weight room, coaches' offices, dining hall and sports medicine center.

None of that means Fickell is suddenly off the hook. Wisconsin didn't spend all this money just to get back to seven or eight wins every year, and there are still five games left this season.

But I wanted to see something different after what happened last year.

So far, I am.

Now let's see what happens at Iowa.

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