The Wisconsin Badgers were confident that Nyzier Fourqurean would be playing this season, even though he was in the midst of an appeals process against the NCAA for an extra year of eligibility. The person who was the most confident was head coach Luke Fickell.
In March, he chastized a reporter for even thinking that Fourqurean wouldn't be back in 2025. He felt the question was absurd and that it was a certainty. Now that the United States Appeals Court has ruled against Fourqurean, and now Fickell's words are coming back to bite him.
Here was #Badgers HC Luke Fickell’s response to the Nyzier Forqurean case back in March.
— Donte Hadler (@DonteHadler) May 28, 2025
It’s a big morning for the Badgers roster. pic.twitter.com/rt4jVGxaaQ
Luke Fickell was confident Nyzier Fourqurean would play in 2025 and he was very wrong
In a 2-1 decision, the United States Courts of Appeals ruled in the NCAA's favor to uphold the current eligibility requirements in relation to Fourqurean's request. That request came after the courts ruled that JUCO (junior college) seasons don't count against NCAA eligibility. Fourqurean was arguing that neither should DII seasons. In the first case, it was ruled in Fourqurean's favor, but after the appeal by the NCAA, Fourqurean's college career is over.
It's a devastating blow not only to the Wisconsin secondary but also to the dreams of Fourqurean. He now has to hang up his cleats without knowing he already had his final game. Luke Fickell has to be just as blown away as anyone. He had some strong words about how it wasn't even a discussion back in March.
It was from a back-and-forth with a reporter in spring. The reporter starts to engage with a question, "Nyzier is in a tough situation..." Fickell cuts him off with, "Why's that?" The reporter states that due to the court appeal case, Nyzier is in limbo. Fickell cuts him off again with a "He's playing! Why would it be a tough situation?" The reporter tries again, "Well, he's in limbo." And Fickell triples down with "No, it's not going to be."
Fickell then tries to clarify his comments by saying that Fourqurean shouldn't have thoughts that would hold him back. That he will be and is all-in, but the overabundance of confidence that the appeals case wasn't a problem at all, is now biting him in the butt. Fans are bringing these words back to life all over social media.