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Wisconsin chancellor leaving will disrupt organizational alignment for Badgers athletic department

UW-Madison will pick a new boss for athletic director Chris McIntosh and head coach Luke Fickell, deciding the future of Wisconsin Badgers sports.
Lorin Cox|
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell, right, with athletic director Chris McIntosh, left, and Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell, right, with athletic director Chris McIntosh, left, and Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK

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When the Wisconsin Badgers decided to keep head coach Luke Fickell and invest more in the football program, it signaled an aligned direction for the athletic department and the university.

That alignment was disrupted over the weekend, when UW-Madison chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced she will be leaving to take over as president at Columbia University.

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Mnookin is the direct boss of athletic director Chris McIntosh. She hired him to the position in 2021, and he went on to hire Fickell at the end of 2022.

The three of them were inherently connected atop the leadership structure of Wisconsin athletics. Now, a new boss will be coming in.

McIntosh pointed to Mnookin's parternship and leadership when he released a letter to Badgers fans this fall, promising a brighter future for the football program.

"With the support and significant involvement of Chancellor Mnookin, Athletics is committed to elevating the investment into our football program to position us to compete at the highest level," McIntosh wrote. "Wisconsin Football and Wisconsin Athletics are important to our campus, to our community, to our entire state and to all our loyal fans and alumni. They matter deeply to Chancellor Mnookin, who has been a strong partner since her arrival in Madison."

Prior to that letter going out, Mnookin was infamously booed during a Badgers football game when she was recognized on the field at halftime.

She isn't departing immediately, but the university is working with her to name a replacement in the coming weeks.

Whoever replaces her likely won't have the same ties to McIntosh or Fickell.

That's not to say that the next chancellor is going to come in and completely upend the athletic department, but the AD and head coach will be under even more pressure to prove themselves to their new boss.

Mnookin had their backs this fall. The next chancellor might not.

For some Wisconsin fans, that represents hope for a change in direction. For others, it brings the potential for instability and dysfunction in the future.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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