Barry Alvarez calls out the current state Luke Fickell has Wisconsin football in

Barry Alvarez is never far removed from Wisconsin or his opinions about what is happening around the program. The Badger legend recently aired his frustrations about the Luke Fickell-led program on ESPN Madison. While he didn't dismiss Fickell or come down on him personally, he definitely called out where the program is versus where it should be.

Former Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez says the program is not in a good place

The video clip above shows Alvarez in an interview with the "The Great Dane Huddle" crew. The clip starts with Alvarez talking about the Spring Game and what he wants to see from the players. He says, "There has to be a pride in this team...that they want to bounce back and be relevant again."

The Wisconsin football team went 5-7 last season with a 3-6 Big Ten record. They didn't get into a bowl game and finished 12th in the Big Ten. It was an embarrassing product last season, and Alvarez and fans do not want to see it happen again in 2025.

"We worked our fannies off to start winning, win championships, and be good. Go to bowl games every year, and dammit, we did it better than everyone for 20-some years. After not going for like a million years. These guys have to fight their ass off to get back in that groove...They have a responsibility; I don't like where we are right now, they need to bounce back and put this program back where it belongs. "

Barry Alvarez

These are strong words from a former Badger head coach. You can see his frustration and passion for the program. He represents in many ways the frustrations of the fans. What we have seen so far under Luke Fickell is not Wisconsin football; it's not winning football, and everyone is growing tired of it, including (maybe especially) Barry Alvarez.