Let's go on record saying that Wisconsin fans should be rooting for Shawn Eichorst to succeed, and there are a lot of reasons to be excited. There are also plenty of reasons to be nervous about the hire, specifically when you remember or read about his time as an athletic director at Nebraska. Which was the last time he was an athletic director? The chair of the search team weighs in on exactly why Eichrost was hired, reminding Wisconsin of his successes at Texas.
Since 2018, he has been the chief operating officer for the University of Texas athletics department. Everything from that time seemed to be amazing. He hit home run after home run for the Longhorns, and you can tell from the quotes from both Texas athletic director Chris Del Conte and head coach Steve Sarkisian that he will be missed. He was also very well respected there. So, there's reason to be both optimistic and pessimistic.
Lauren Bishop, an associate professor at Wisconsin and the chair of the search team for finding a replacement for Chris McIntosh, weighed in with a quote on exactly why the Badgers hired Shawn Eichorst.
""I'm thrilled that Shawn was chosen to lead the Badgers in this transformational era of college athletics. Through our process that began with listening, Shawn emerged as a leader who embodies the bold vision that we need to lead the Badgers in this new and transformational era of college athletics while staying grounded in the values of the Wisconsin Idea, and most importantly, the holistic wellbeing of our student athletes. I was particularly impressed by how Shawn innovated and modernized while at the University of Texas, while staying grounded in the holistic wellbeing of student athletes.""Lauren Bishop
Shawn Eichorst fit exactly what the search committee was looking for and he became the clear candidate to choose
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Notice how she repeats a couple of themes over and over? The word "transformational" is repeated twice. She is indicating that Eichorst knows how to lead the Badgers into the next phase of college athletics, and he proved it at Texas: "Shawn innovated and modernized while at the University of Texas." Bishop sees Eichorst as a candidate who can do what hasn't been done yet at Wisconsin, bring the Badgers' athletic department up to the standard of schools like Texas.
If it were only one time, it would just be a 'thing you say,' but twice means that it was a point of emphasis. They were looking for an AD that didn't forsake student athletes while working hard to modernize the athletic department. You also wonder if any of the problems with Marisa Moseley remained in the room. She was accused of not caring about the "holistic wellbeing" of her players.
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Finally, she also emphasized what others emphasized, that Eichorst is from Wisconsin, understands the Badgers, and will not need to adjust to the University of Wisconsin. There's already some built-in knowledge and understanding of the culture at Wisconsin.
These are the three things that Bishop brings to light in her quote about Eichorst, clearly identifying why Eichorst was hired: His innovation/vision he brings from Texas, his care for the whole program, including athletes, and finally his knowledge and understanding of the culture at Wisconsin.
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