Wisconsin is in the midst of a national search for a new athletic director after Chris McIntosh stepped down last week. Adam Rittenberg joined ESPN Madison and mentioned one name that he thinks is worth keeping an eye on for Badger fans. He thinks it's important for the next AD to "understand what they're walking into."
He said there's a name in the Barry Alvarez tree that may hold some interest. While he talks about a variety of approaches that Wisconsin can take, the only name he mentions is Sean Frazier, the Vice President/Director of Athletics and Recreation from Northern Illinois.
"THEY NEED SOMEONE WHO UNDERSTANDS WHAT THEY'RE WALKING INTO..."@ESPNRittenberg breaks down exactly what Wisconsin's next AD needs... and names a potential candidate to watch in NIU's Sean Frazier 👀 pic.twitter.com/m09AGRaakI
— ESPN Madison (@ESPNMadison) April 15, 2026
A name in the Barry Alvarez tree that Adam Rittenberg mentions is Sean Frazier
Related: Barry Alvarez was Wisconsin fans everywhere over Chris McIntosh jumping ship
Frazier was Barry Alvarez's right-hand man for years at Wisconsin. He served under Alvarez from 2007 to 2013, and one of his major roles was fundraising for the department. It's actually one of the skills he carried over to Northern Illinois.
According to his public profile at NIU about his time in Wisconsin: "Frazier played a lead role in raising $123 million for multiple capital projects at UW, including a $31 million hockey/swim facility, an $86 million student-athlete performance center and a $3.5 million softball indoor practice facility."
Rittenberg says that Frazier would definitely be interested in the job at Wisconsin and is a name to watch. The reason the fundraising part is important for Badger fans is that it is a major area of weakness under Chris McIntosh. There's been a clear lack of NIL-driven success unless it was forced upon him. Whoever the next AD is, they have to be able to bring in funding for the programs.
At NIU, Frazier has a ton of awards and accomplishments. He was even one of the finalists for athletic director of the year by the Sports Business Journal. One of his main emphases at NIU is making sure that Huskies have the funding they need not only to compete at the national level but to win their conference in as many sports as possible. That's something Badger fans will like to hear.
It may not be Frazier, but there's now another name on the list to keep an eye on, and one that was trained by Barry Alvarez himself. That's a huge win.
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