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The top two administrators in the University of Wisconsin athletic department had a day to burn between the 2019 NCAA volleyball national semifinal and title game, so Barry Alvarez asked his protégé to go for a ride.
Alvarez and Chris McIntosh left their Pittsburgh hotel, hopped in a rental car and made the 25-mile trip west to where Alvarez grew up in Langeloth. They picked up Alvarez’s brother Woody, cousin Bimbo and longtime friend Phil, and McIntosh couldn’t help but feel at times as though he was part of a family reunion on wheels.
At one point during the tour of his hometown and the other old, small mining towns surrounding it in Washington County, Alvarez couldn’t help notice his guest’s eyes were wide open.
Alvarez’s backstory is well-documented as he nears the end of a legendary run at UW that began when he took over the football program in 1990 and will end Wednesday, his final day as athletic director.
His humble beginnings in western Pennsylvania included working as a youngster at his uncle’s grocery store in Langeloth during the summer and on weekends during the school year. Each day, he’d watch men carrying their lunch pails as they’d get on a bus that would take them to work. At the end of the day, the bus would return and the men would file out, tired and dirty.
Alvarez decided then and there he wasn’t going to work in a steel mill.
McIntosh, a two-time captain and All-American left tackle under Alvarez in the late 1990s, had heard anecdotes like that one used as metaphors. As a coach for 16 seasons, Alvarez wanted his teams to have a lunch-pail mentality; as the leader of the athletic department, he constantly talked to his employees about taking a blue-collar approach and not taking any shortcuts.
On Dec. 20, 2019, the man who will be handed the baton and officially take over as athletic director Thursday gained a bigger appreciation for the symbolism Alvarez had been using at UW for three-plus decades.
McIntosh returned to his hotel room that day with the visuals to match Alvarez’s words.
“You could see that edge,” McIntosh said, and, more importantly, he could feel it.
Confidence grows
That famous line from his opening news conference at UW in early 1990 — “They better get their season tickets right now because, before too long, they probably won’t be able to” Alvarez says — is one of those quotes that looks good on paper but is even better when watching him say it.
The look on Alvarez’s face while delivering it borders on arrogance. Moreover, he doesn’t immediately turn away from the reporter off to his right who had asked the question, holding an icy stare for a few seconds. Three decades later, Alvarez doesn’t even remember the question. He just recalls feeling like he was being challenged and wasn’t about to be pushed around.
Alvarez, with rare exceptions, always has believed in himself. A player on the final high school team he coached in Mason City, Iowa, once told him that it wouldn’t be long before Alvarez was coaching in college. Alvarez’s response: I know.
When Alvarez was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 2010, a reporter asked him if he was surprised a guy from his little hometown had earned such an achievement. Alvarez’s response again was blunt: No, it doesn’t surprise me.
Long before they served as Alvarez’s vehicle out of steel-mill country, sports helped develop that swagger we see over and over from the face of the Badgers.
Alvarez admits he’s been fortunate to play for or work under some great coaches at the college level, a list that includes Bob Devaney at Nebraska, Hayden Fry at Iowa and Lou Holtz at Notre Dame.
With Barry Alvarez announcing his retirement as athletic director at the University of Wisconsin, take a look back at some of the biggest celebrations during his time with the Badgers.
Less famous than those three giants is Pat McGraw, who coached Alvarez in both baseball and football at Union High School in Burgettstown.
McGraw arranged scrimmages with bigger schools during training camp every year, including one instance in which the Class A Blue Devils traveled to nearby Canonsburg for a matchup against Class AAA Canon-McMillan.
Alvarez and his teammates — there were only about 30 players on the team — were on the field doing calisthenics in their dirty practice uniforms when the other team came running out of its field house. The line of players never seemed to end and the Blue Devils were outnumbered by at least a 3-to-1 ratio by the time the entire team was on the field.
McGraw could tell his players were in awe. He gathered them together, spit some chewing tobacco out of his mouth and didn’t mince words.
“I don’t give a (expletive) how many guys they have. I don’t care what they’re wearing,” Alvarez remembers McGraw saying. “They can only put 11 on the field. We can put 11 on the field, and our 11 can kick their 11’s (expletive).”
And that’s exactly what happened, an experience that stuck with a player who later would deliver his own share of fiery pep talks.
“That,” Alvarez said, “was a great lesson for me.”
Man with a message
It’s one thing to have confidence, but how do you spread it to someone else?
As a coach, Alvarez always tried to look for an edge. He wanted his players to feel as though they were better coached and more prepared than their opponents. When Alvarez arrived in Madison, he’d polled the returning players that would form the nucleus of his first team and realized how much work had to be done. The consensus among the Badgers was that they felt they were beaten before even stepping on the field.
Alvarez took a program that went 6-27 in the three seasons before his arrival and led it to a Big Ten title and 1994 Rose Bowl victory in his fourth season. Back-to-back Rose Bowl wins followed in 1998 and 1999.
One word that comes up often as McIntosh describes Alvarez’s strength as a leader is alignment. There weren’t false promises made during the recruiting process. Alvarez acknowledged upfront that the workload would be demanding and tried to attract players who would buy into that model.
Even players aligned in their beliefs have doubts at times, but that’s where Alvarez’s motivational skills would take over. Some of his Friday night speeches would leave the Badgers ready to take the field that minute. As with the news conference line about season tickets, it wasn’t only the words Alvarez was saying to his players; the manner in which the message was being delivered mattered just as much.
“There were no cracks in his delivery that would leave anything up for interpretation,” McIntosh said.
Alvarez borrowed one particular entry from the Holtz playbook several times during his career. It came in handy when UW was an underdog and Alvarez felt his players needed an edge to get them over the top. On the night before games, the last thing the players would hear before heading to their hotel rooms was their coach saying he not only believed the Badgers could win, but that they could win big.
“Listen,” Alvarez would say, stealing the words right out of Holtz’s mouth, “this sucker doesn’t even have to be close.”
He pulled out that tactic in late 2014 after Gary Andersen bolted to Oregon State and the players asked Alvarez to coach them in the Outback Bowl vs. Auburn. The Badgers had been beaten 59-0 by Ohio State in the Big Ten title game and Alvarez inherited a team that he felt was a shell of the tough, physical teams he’d coached and also was in the dumps after being embarrassed by the Buckeyes.
Alvarez took over and assured the team it was good but needed to change how it was operating. He told them practices were going to be more demanding and the approach in the weight room was going to change as well.
“Now,” Alvarez said, “I don’t know whether you can get stronger in three weeks — probably not — but I was going to make them think they could get stronger.”
The night before the Badgers’ 34-31 victory over the Tigers, Alvarez pulled out the Holtz line.
“And if (Joel) Stave wouldn’t have thrown those” three picks, Alvarez says now, “it wouldn’t have been close.”
Longtime friend Ted Kellner gets up to speak about Barry Alvarez at the University of Wisconsin athletic director’s retirement news conference at the Kohl Center on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
Alvarez’s messaging as an athletic director wasn’t all that different from when he was a coach. Leading a team is leading a team, whether it’s athletes or the people responsible for giving them — and here is a description Alvarez uses all the time — a first-class experience.
Whether it was his talks to begin training camp or one at a meeting in a boardroom, Alvarez wants his charges to understand that everybody has a role in the organization’s success.
Alvarez tells this story a lot and doesn’t remember where he heard it: Back in the 1960s, President John F. Kennedy was taking a tour of Cape Canaveral and the group he was with crossed paths with a janitor mopping the hallway. They stopped and asked him how he was doing.
“He could have said a lot of different things, could have had a (poor) attitude,” Alvarez said. “What does he say? ‘Just trying to put a man on the moon, Mr. President.’”
Most of the people in the UW athletic department call him “coach” even though he’s never coached almost all of them.
When Alvarez was an assistant under Holtz and Fry, he appreciated how they gave him a job and let him do it without meddling. He’s taken the same approach in a role he’s held since 2004, letting new employees know what he expected from them and turning them loose without micro-management.
“He’s hired good people and he trusts them,” McIntosh said. “He lets them do their job and he holds them accountable.”
‘What in the hell am I doing here?
About the only time Alvarez admits to his confidence wavering was upon his arrival at Nebraska as a 17-year-old in 1964.
Alvarez and another recruit from western Pennsylvania hopped off a plane in Lincoln and went straight from the airport to the Cornhuskers’ football facility. There the two youngsters wearing suits and string ties walked into the room where veteran players had gathered to eat between two-a-day practices. Alvarez looked at them and saw grown men with big, heavy beards and he could have sworn some of them were 30 years old; they looked at him and the other player and saw fresh meat. A round of cat-calls started.
“One of them was married, divorced and had a brand-new car,” Alvarez said. “I was like, damn, I’m 17. What in the hell am I doing here?”
Teams could stockpile players on the roster because there were no scholarship limits in the Big Eight Conference back then, and Devaney took full advantage. Alvarez and teammate Rick Coleman, who both played middle linebacker and still are close friends, told each other it was a survival of the fittest.
The Cornhuskers were so deep that they scrimmaged in shifts: three teams in the morning and three more in the afternoon. Alvarez spent the 1964 season playing on the freshman team and the idea of actually getting on the field with the varsity felt far beyond the horizon.
But the great equalizer, whether it’s a 17-year-old from western Pennsylvania or an upperclassman divorcee with a car, was the willingness to be physical. The pads would go on and players would separate themselves.
And Alvarez loved to hit and had ever since he started playing for the first time as a child. The men with beards at Nebraska suddenly didn’t look so intimidating. He got on the field for the Cornhuskers in 1965, his first season eligible.
Alvarez later used his experience as a lesson to the high school players he’d coached who were going off to college programs.
“I trained you, man,” Alvarez would say. “You know how to hit and when you strike somebody, you will get the coaches’ attention. You whack people and be physical, they’ll find a place for you.”
Coleman, who hosted Alvarez on his recruiting visit, came to consider him a younger brother. He’s the first to admit he never could have seen his Hall of Fame coaching career coming, but it’s been impressive to watch play out as a friend.
“What I love about Barry — and I tell everyone this — is he’s had all this success and he’s the same guy I met more than 50 years ago,” Coleman said.
Sounding board
It was in Lincoln that Alvarez met his wife, Cindy. She stood him up on what was supposed to be their first date but felt bad and gave him another chance. They’ve been married for 53 years.
She’s spent most of this month as the host of Barrypalooza. The couple was going to throw one giant retirement bash at their home in Fitchburg, but the guest list got too big. They instead divided the groups and held four parties, one each weekend in June. The parties may stretch into July.
“I don’t know how many we have,” he said. “We just keep going.”
Cindy is the one there to listen when her husband is angry at something or someone and needs to vent. She’ll never forget the moment they shared back in 1990, when Barry was struggling to put on a brave front during a debut season in which the Badgers went 1-10.
“I can never show weakness to anybody but you,” he told her.
Cindy has been part of a group that plays bridge ever since the couple arrived in Madison. She refers to it as the “Pulse of America” because some of its participants had no connection to Barry’s work life or her UW-centric social circles.
She brings another viewpoint to Barry’s attention when she believes he is viewing a situation only in terms of athletics administration or the student-athlete. An example came in 2008 when negotiations between the then-fledgling Big Ten Network and cable companies had stalled. Barry wasn’t directly involved in those talks, but he had the ear of people who were, and Cindy needed him to know it was time to end the madness and find some resolution so BTN would be included in cable packages.
Other times, Barry will be riled up about an issue and Cindy will tell him it’s not worth the stress because the topic hasn’t even registered on the Pulse of America’s radar.
When Barry is asked about his decision-making process, he brings up Cindy’s value as a sounding board. “But nine times out of 10,” she says, “I just think he just wants to hear himself say it because he knows what he’s going to do.”
‘He needs that spotlight’
So what is Alvarez, 74, going to do now that he’s retiring from UW?
He’s been in the spotlight for 31-plus years in Madison and there’s little doubt that he’ll remain in it.
“Oh, and he needs that spotlight,” Cindy said. “Yes, he does. I call it his ego check. I’ll always say, ‘Oh, you need to get your ego checked? Want to go out tonight?’
“He loves people. My husband will be the only person in the world who attends his own funeral, and he will be partying.”
Wisconsin State Journal sports reporters Jim Polzin and Todd Milewski reflect on what was learned at an event where University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez announced he’s retiring at the end of June.
While Alvarez denied in May a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report that he’s expected to begin work with the Big Ten office as a liaison between commissioner Kevin Warren and the conference’s football coaches, all signs appear to be pointed in the direction of the deal eventually getting done. Warren came to Madison at least once in May to visit with Alvarez about taking on an advisor role that would seem to benefit the league while also keeping Alvarez in the public eye.
While Alvarez has moved into a smaller office at Kellner Hall, he said it has nothing to do with the Big Ten position. He wanted a quiet space he can go to work, whatever that entails. Alvarez said in the next breath that he won’t interject himself in McIntosh or anyone else’s business at UW unless asked.
There also seems to be an eagerness on both the part of Barry and Cindy to focus less on work and more on enjoying life. They’ll leave after Thanksgiving for their winter home in Naples, Florida — where Barry can dance to Pitbull and Bruno Mars — and remain there until the end of May.
They’ve made plans to travel to France next May and their next big trip after that likely will be to Australia and New Zealand. Cindy would like to go to Africa; Barry, at least so far, is resisting that idea.
One project on his horizon is his desire to write a book on coaching youth football. She’s also encouraged him to take piano lessons, though his arthritis and short-attention span for non-football activities may prevent that.
Alvarez arrived at Kellner Hall a little before 9 a.m. Monday in navy shorts and a teal Under Armour polo shirt, the type of outfit that would draw dirty looks in Washington County until the residents realized it was one of their native sons.
Wherever he goes, whatever he does next, there’ll always be a part of western Pennsylvania that never leaves Alvarez. McIntosh could sense that the day his boss gave him a closer look at his roots.
“He’s very proud of where he came from and what it is and represents,” McIntosh said. “It’s clear it guides him as a person and it’s now part of our culture here. It’s kind of the ultimate honor to where he came from.”
Photos: A look back at Barry Alvarez’s tenure with the Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin Badgers associate head coach Greg Gard, left, speaks during a press conference after being announced the new head coach at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis., Tuesday, December 15, 2015.
Russell Wilson, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks and former UW quarterback, talks with Gary Andersen, right, UW football head coach, and Barry Alvarez, director of athletics, during Wilson’s Passing Academy football camp in the McClain Center at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, June 29, 2013.
UW-Madison athletic director Barry Alvarez poses for a photo with fans before the Wisconsin Badgers’ season-opening football game against Utah State on Friday, Sept. 1, 2017.
Statue of Barry Alvarez at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis., Monday, July 7, 2014.
The Milwaukee Bucks and the University of Wisconsin held a joint press conference Monday, July 6, 2015 at the Kohl Center announcing that the Bucks will play a preseason game at the Kohl Center and hold part of their training camp in Madison. Left to Right: Bucks coach Jason Kidd; GM John Hammond; Jon McGlocklin; UW coach Bo Ryan; and UW athletic director Barry Alvarez.
The 38th Annual Crazylegs Classic Grand Marshal Joe Thomas and Barry Alvarez before the race on April 27, 2019.
First-year coach Barry Alvarez lays into the assembled players at a freshman-only session for not showing enough intensity on Aug. 14, 1990. Among that group were two players, Mike Verstegen (51) and Carlos Fowler (92), who went on to start for the 1993 team that won a share of the Big Ten championship and the school’s first Rose Bowl title.
University of Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez (right) and offensive coordinator Brian White get a look at their squad before kickoff of the 2004 spring game.
Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez, right, with wife Cindy after his last game at Camp Randall Stadium against Iowa on Nov. 12, 2005.
Barry Alvarez celebrates his 100th victory in the Big Ten as he is cheered by the UW student section as he leaves the field. The Wisconsin Badgers defeated the University of Central Florida 34-6 on Sept. 4, 2004.
Bucky Badger greets new UW football coach Barry Alvarez at his introductory press conference at McClain Athletic Facility.
Barry Alvarez draws a crowd for a recruiting class press conference in 1993.
UW-Madison football coach Barry Alvarez looks over his prepared remarks as Chancellor John Wiley announces that Alvarez will become the new athletic director and continue to coach the football team. Alvarez will replace Pat Richter, third from left, who announced his retirement at the press conference at the Kohl Center on Friday, Feb. 14, 2003.
Barry Alvarez, along with his wife Cindy, removes the cover of his statue in an unveiling ceremony near Kellner Hall.
Barry Alvarez leads quarterback John Stocco, wide receivers coach Henry Mason, right, and the rest of the Badgers onto the field at Penn State.
Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez speaks to fans during a tribute to him after the Iowa game at Camp Randall in 2005.
Barry Alvarez and his son Chad leave the field after the win at Purdue on Oct. 16, 2004.
University of Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez walks off the field with players Dustin Rusch (74), Ed Premus (51) and Pat McGettigan (90) after the Badgers’ 24-7 non-conference victory over Ball State on Sept. 15, 1990. It was the first career victory for Alvarez as UW’s head coach.
Outgoing UW-Madison athletic director Pat Richter and former UW-Madison chancellor Donna Shalala present Badgers coach Barry Alvarez (right) with a commemorative gift at Alvarez’s final home game in 2005.
Barry Alvarez and Brian Calhoun embrace after Alvarez accepted the winner’s trophy and Calhoun the MVP trophy at the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 3, 2006.
Barry Alvarez and John Chadima celebrate after the game. The Wisconsin Badgers defeated Arizona 9-7 on Sept. 18, 2004, at Arizona Stadium in Tucson, Ariz.
WIAA executive director Dave Anderson (left) and University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez announce a seven-year extension that will keep state football, boys basketball, wrestling, boys and girls golf and softball in Madison through 2020.
The 2004 Badger State Games honorary athlete Barry Alvarez lights torch during opening ceremonies at Verona High School Friday night.
Former Wisconsin basketball player Frank Kaminsky shares an embrace with UW athletic director Barry Alvarez as his jersey number is raised during Frank Kaminsky Night at the Kohl Center on Feb. 15, 2018.
Barry Alvarez and the Badgers celebrate their Capital One Bowl victory over Auburn on Jan. 2, 2006.
Barry Alvarez exits the field Nov. 12, 2005, in his final home game as the Badgers head coach.
Green Bay Packers general manager Ted Thompson, left, chats with Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, center, and former head coach Bret Bielema, right, during Badgers Pro Day at the McClain Center on March 7, 2012.
Barry Alvarez addresses the homecoming crowd in Madison on Oct. 12, 2013.
Badgers head coach, Barry Alvarez, gets soaked after defeating Auburn 24-10 in the 2006 Capital One Bowl.
Badgers head coach, Barry Alvarez, celebrates his win over Auburn in the 2006 Capital One Bowl in Orlando, Fla.
Badgers head coach Barry Alvarez and 2016 Capital One Bowl MVP Brian Calhoun (2) celebrate the win over Auburn in Orlando.
Badgers head coach Barry Alvarez.
UW athletic director Barry Alvarez, left, talks in 2017 with Pat Richter, his predecessor who was the first person unveiled as part of the Camp Randall 100 honoring people who shaped the first century of Camp Randall Stadium.
Brian Calhoun and Barry Alvarez celebrate at midfield after the Badgers defeated Michigan on September 24, 2005, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
Coach Barry Alvarez and leads the Wisconsin football team onto the field at Camp Randall for their first game of the 2003 season.
Bobbie Kelsey, the new women’s basketball coach, and Wisconsin’s Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez speak after a press conference on April 11, 2011.
Barry Alvarez and Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema speak during a practice on Monday, August 7, 2006.
Barry Alvarez speaks during the Cap Times 2017 Idea Fest on Sunday, September 17, 2017.
Alvarez is interviewed by Chris Stone in the Gordon Center at the Cap Times 2017 Idea Fest on Sunday, September 17, 2017.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez speaks during a press conference on Dec. 10, 2014, in the UW Field House media room near Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
From left, Joe Krabbenhoft, Marcus Landry, Barry Alvarez and Bo Ryan take in the ESPN College Gameday broadcast. The eyes of the basketball world were on Madison as ESPN College Gameday broadcast live from the Kohl Center on Saturday, February 14, 2009, in Madison.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez talks to officials before the Crazylegs Classic on Saturday, April 24, 2010 in Madison, Wisconsin.
Ron Dayne, center, glows as his name is enshrined on the facade of the upper deck at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 14, 1999, after UW clinched the Big Ten Conference title outright. From left, UW Chancellor David Ward, UW tackle Chris McIntosh, coach Barry Alvarez and athletic director Pat Richter look on.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez is interviewed by CBS Sports on the court during open practices for the Final Four on April 3, 2015, at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Athletic director Barry Alvarez, left, Greg Gard, center, and Brian Lucas, director of athletic communication, during a press conference naming Gard as the new head coach of the Wisconsin men’s basketball team on March 8, 2016, at the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion in Madison
Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Greg Gard, right, embraces athletic director Barry Alvarez at the start of an introductory press conference on March 8, 2016, at the Nicholas Johnson Pavilion in Madison.
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard, right, embraces athletic director Barry Alvarez after an introductory press conference on March 8, 2016, at the Nicholas Johnson Pavilion in Madison.
Flanked by director of athletics communication Brian Lucas, left, and athletics director Barry Alvarez, right, new Wisconsin Badgers football coach Gary Andersen speaks during a press conference on Dec. 21, 2012, in the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion at the Kohl Center in Madison.
New Wisconsin Badgers football coach Gary Andersen walks into a press conference with athletics director Barry Alvarez on Dec. 21, 2012, in the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion at the Kohl Center in Madison.
New Wisconsin Badgers football coach Gary Andersen, right, and athletics director Barry Alvarez, center, speak with Monsignor Mike Burke, a close supporter of the UW football program, following a press conference on Dec. 21, 2012, in the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion at the Kohl Center in Madison.
Joe Fegruson, right, is congratulated by UW athletic director Barry Alvarez, the Madison Memorial athlete’s grandfather, in 2013 after announcing he will wear a Badgers uniform.
New Wisconsin women’s basketball coach Jonathan Tsipis, left, is introduced by Barry Alvarez on March 31, 2016, at the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion on the campus in Madison.
UW Athletic Director Barry Alvarez and Jessie Vetter share a laugh.
Athletic director Barry Alvarez speaks in the ear of Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Alex Hornibrook after the Badgers’ win over the Miami Hurricanes in the 2017 Orange Bowl at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Fla.
Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez and Stanford coach David Shaw meet for a photo opportunity with the Leishman Trophy during a press conference on Dec. 30, 2012, at The L.A. Hotel Downtown in Los Angeles. Wisconsin was set to play Stanford in the Rose Bowl on Jan 1, 2013.
Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez arrives at the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1, 2013, in Pasadena, Calif.
Wisconsin Badgers head coach Barry Alvarez speaks to the media at the annual Lawry’s Beef Bowl at Lawry’s The Prime Rib in Beverly Hills, Calif., Friday, Dec. 28, 2012. The dinner event is a longstanding tradition for teams participating in the Rose Bowl. M.P. King-State Journal (Published on 12/29/12) This is Barry Alvarez’s sixth Rose Bowl as UW coach or athletic director, but the players know it’s not an experience that should be taken for granted.
Wisconsin Badgers running back James White and coach Barry Alvarez, left, acknowledge fans and parents as they depart the Rose Bowl stadium following a team picture Dec. 21, 2012, in Pasadena, Calif.
Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez visits with team supporters following a press conference Dec. 20, 2012, at The L.A. Hotel Downtown in Los Angeles.
Wisconsin football coach Bret Bielema and athletic director Barry Alvarez have a chat on the sideline during a team practice on Dec. 28, 2011, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez sits on the sidelines of a football team practice on Dec. 28. 2011, at the Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif.
Wisconsin Badgers football coach Barry Alvarez shakes hands with Kirk Herbstreit during pregame warmups at the 2013 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Wisconsin Badgers coach Barry Alvarez supervises warmups at the 2013 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
Stanford coach David Shaw and Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez meet at midfield after Stanford beat Wisconsin in the 2013 Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.
With Barry Alvarez, right, and his wife Cindy Alvarez, left, Wisconsin Badgers head Bret Bielema, center, celebrates the Badgers win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers in the 2012 Big Ten championship game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Ind.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez walks the home sideline before Wisconsin played UNLV on Sept. 1, 2011, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison.
Wisconsin Badgers interim head coach Barry Alvarez chats with former Badger J.J. Watt on the sideline before the Outback Bowl against the Auburn Tigers at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 1, 2015. M.P. KING — State Journal
Auburn football coach Gus Malzahn and Wisconsin interim coach Barry Alvarez meet at midfield before the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Led by interim head coach Barry Alvarez, the Wisconsin Badgers take the field before the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Wisconsin Badgers interim coach Barry Alvarez reacts to a call late in the second half of the Outback Bowl against the Auburn Tigers on Jan. 1, 2015, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Wisconsin Badgers players lift interim head coach Barry Alvarez onto their shoulders while celebrating their win over the Auburn Tigers in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Wisconsin Badgers linebacker Marcus Trotter (59) and interim head coach Barry Alvarez embrace after their win over the Auburn Tigers in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Badgers interim head coach Barry Alvarez walks off the field after his team’s win over Auburn in the Outback Bowl on Jan. 1, 2015, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Fla.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, right, laughs as Paul Chryst, newly announced head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers football team responds to a reporter’s question during a press conference at the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion in Madison, Wis., Wednesday, Dec. 17, 2014. M.P. KING — State Journal
Paul Chryst, newly announced head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers football team, speaks as athletic director Barry Alvarez, background, listens during a press conference on Dec. 17, 2014, at the Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion in Madison.
Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan hugs Barry Alvarez after defeating the Arizona Wildcats to advance to the NCAA Tournament Final Four on March 20, 2014, at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., Saturday, March 29, 2014.
Wisconsin Badgers football coach Gary Andersen hugs athletic director Barry Alvarez as offensive lineman Rob Havenstein takes the Big Ten West Division Trophy during a post-game ceremony after the team’s win over the Minnesota Golden Gophers on Nov. 29, 2014, at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wis.
Before his introductory news conference, Barry Alvarez, right, had his first meeting with UW-Madison Chancellor Donna Shalala. At left is athletic director Pat Richter.
UW athletic director Pat Richter, left, and coach Barry Alvarez celebrate what just four years earlier seemed impossible.
Badgers coach Barry Alvarez, left, chats with actor Henry Winkler during a practice in December 1999 in Los Angeles. Winkler, whose daughter attends UW, watched the practice and wished the team luck.
For the second straight year, Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez and tailback Ron Dayne celebrated in January 2000 a Rose Bowl victory and a Most Valuable Player award for Dayne.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, left, and coach Mike Eaves celebrate an NCAA Frozen Four championship win over Boston College in April 2006 in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin’s Adam Burish, left, and athletic director Barry Alvarez, celebrate a win in NCAA Frozen Four championship game Saturday in Milwaukee.
Wisconsin women’s basketball coach Lisa Stone and football coach Barry Alvarez visit on the sidelines near the start of the Crazylegs Classic on April 26, 2003.
(PUBLISHED CAPTION) University of Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez, left, hugs wide receiver Lee DeRamus as the Badgers leave Memorial Stadium with a 35-10 victory over Illinois and a clear path to the Rose Bowl. The victory, which puts the Badgers one win away from Pasadena, was UW’s first at Illinois since 1970.
Wisconsin football coach Barry Alvarez (back row, middle), his staff and players have their photo taken in 1992.
University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez takes in the Legends of Wisconsin golf event from a golf cart in 2007 at University Ridge Golf Course.
The Wisconsin Badgers battled UNLV for a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on March 18, 2007, at the United Center in Chicago, Il. There wasn’t much for UW athletic director Barry Alvarez and Badgers fans to cheer about in the final minutes of the game.
Wisconsin’s Courtney Thomas, left, Lauren Carlini, center, and Haleigh Nelson celebrate the team’s Big Ten Women’s Volleyball Championship after receiving the trophy from University of Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez following their 3-0 win over Purdue on Nov. 28, 2014, at the UW Fieldhouse in Madison.
Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez watches near the finish line of the women’s race of the Adidas Invitational at the Thomas Zimmer Championship Cross Country Course on Oct. 12, 2012 at University Ridge in Madison, Wis.
Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez speaks to the UW-Whitewater football team after practice at the McClain Facility Wednesday. Alvarez gave a pep talk to the UW-Whitewater football team before the Warhawks played Mount Union (Ohio) in the 2015 NCAA Division III title game in Salem, Va.
Head coach Mark Johnson (left) is congratulated by Wisconsin athletic director, Barry Alvarez, and chancellor, Biddy Martin, at the event to celebrate the UW women’s hockey team’s NCAA championship on March 21, 2011, at the Nicholas Johnson Pavilion in Madison.
Patty Kazmaier Award winner Meghan Duggan stands with Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez at the event to celebrate the UW women’s hockey team’s NCAA championship on March 21, 2011, at the Nicholas Johnson Pavilion in Madison.