It was announced earlier today that Luke Fickell received a contract extension for one extra year from 2031 to 2032. The indication is that it was part of a routine extension worked into his contract. The Badgers do this with a handful of coaches every year based on how their contracts are worded. The board still has to approve it, and they did today.
This decision made a lot of fans furious at Wisconsin, even if it was something that "had" to happen or eat his buyout. The contract itself that gives in automatic reloads for a program that is descending instead of ascending is the wrong message to send. Fickell now has one extra year on his contract, extending it from 2031 to 2032.
Gross
— Tyler Spietz (@Tyler_Spietz5) February 19, 2025
Luke Fickell is a good coach, but the reasoning from Wisconsin for extending his contract is looney tunes. Nobody in Madison would call the first losing season since 2001 “satisfactory performance.”
— Ryan Hickey (@Ryan_Hickey3) February 19, 2025
Bad, bad optics by the Badgers pic.twitter.com/qOrHsnxtr3
It can’t get worse…right? pic.twitter.com/niaGI2t6KY
— derek (@fakederekmyer) February 19, 2025
Absolute insanity. Idiocracy.
— Make NCAA Great Again (@RightWingEgr) February 19, 2025
"satisfactory performance." pic.twitter.com/VljRFlJi9V
— Jim (@jmacken2013) February 19, 2025
Wisconsin fans can't believe that Luke Fickell was extended for an extra year into 2032
The rationale from many is that this is part of the routine process at Wisconsin to yearly review and extend the coaches that meet "satisfactory performance." However, what about having the first losing season since 2001 was "satisfactory," and how does a coach with a five-game losing streak to end the season demand an extra year?
As much as people want to pitch it as "automatic," it wasn't. Certainly, There is a process, but it isn't automatic. The athletic director doesn't have to recommend the extension. The Board doesn't have to approve it. The contract is allowed to go down from seven years to six years; it doesn't HAVE TO be extended. This was a vote of confidence from athletic director Chris McIntosh and the Athletic Board.
Fans were hoping that this season would be a prove-it year, but now the buy-out has only increased, not decreased. 2025 went from a "Fickell is on the hot seat" to a year in which the contract is less Wisconsin-friendly than it was before. It's brutal for a fanbase looking to get back to prominence.