Greg Gard hosted his annual "Garding Against Cancer" gala and took time to talk with the media about the event and other various topics. Karley Marotta asked for his thoughts on the open Wisconsin athletic director position. Gard didn't hold back, saying that it's a "really, really important position" for Wisconsin, and it needs to be a leader that can embrace all that the new college world encompasses.
Gard did say that he has no role in helping hire the next AD, but did offer to help if they call on him. "The powers that be on campus, our interim chancellor, will handle that directly. If I can be of any assistance, I've offered that."
Great to catch up with Coach Greg Gard before the Garding Against Cancer Gala. We chatted about the importance of the next AD at Wisconsin: pic.twitter.com/F7wQQoLng4
— Karley Marotta (@Karley_Marotta) May 1, 2026
The college landscape continues to change and the next AD has to be equipped for it
Related: Greg Gard best offseason addition is flying under the radar for Badger fans
Gard went on to explain how important the role will be for Wisconsin. "It's a very important time for our athletic department; it's a very crucial time in college athletics. We've seen so many changes, every single day."
The Chris McIntosh departure came as a surprise to Wisconsin fans, but it came at a good time. A time in which his seat was growing hot with the state of football, and even the lack of funding towards basketball. It seems as if McIntosh didn't have a nose for rounding up money. He either didn't want to or didn't like the fundraising side of things.
The next athletic director needs to embrace that challenge and keep Wisconsin at the top of the Big Ten as an athletic department. The college world is changing as Gard mentioned, but there's no reason for an AD to be scared of it; instead, they should embrace it and be part of the solution.
Greg Gard says that college leaders need to embrace the NIL challenge and run at it
That's exactly what Gard said he does when it comes to the NIL. The previous question from Marotta was about Gard's approach to the transfer portal. He said, "It's [only] challenging if you make it challenging. If you embrace it, you run to it, you're equipped to handle it, you have a great staff around you, you have resources you can maximize, you are very diligent and intentional with how you put together a roster, you can have success like we have."
This is the exact mentality the next AD needs to have for Wisconsin. Embracing, running, equipping, hiring a good staff, being diligent, maximizing resources, and being intentional. That would be the dream hire. Gard is on to something across the board. However, he did joke with Marotta that he removed his name and will only be coaching basketball.
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