In a game that Wisconsin football should have won by 50 points, they struggled to really do anything well. It started out hot with a 17-0 lead, and then Wisconsin decided to see what would happen if they sucked again. Well, the rest of the game was a good showing for being underwhelming. And then Shawn Eichorst was asked how he plans to take Wisconsin to the next level, and his response was mind-boggling... he said that 'Wisconsin is already at the next level.'
That's about as tone deaf as you can get as an athletic director. The Badgers had four wins last year and haven't played in a meaningful bowl game for what feels like forever, and the new athletic director comes in and says, 'It's fine." What are we doing here?
Maybe, just maybe, if we want to find an escape hatch for Eichorst, he could have been talking about the university as a whole. Like, the University of Wisconsin-Madison is already at the top level as an institution. Sure, that works and is a smart thing for an athletic director to say. Or there's another escape hatch for Eichorst.
AD Eichorst asked how he plans to take #Wisconsin to the next level and responds that Wisconsin is already at the next level. Not sure that’s the answer the football fan base was looking for. #Badgers
— Marques Pfaff (@MarquesPfaff) September 13, 2026
Shawn Eichorst was brought to Madison to be part of taking things to the next level, not babysit McIntosh's problems
Related: Colton Joseph did nothing to prove he's Wisconsin's QB answer with underwhelming showing
Maybe Eichorst was referring to the athletic department as a whole. Which is maybe less true than the entire university but is more true than just the football program. This would still be fairly tone-deaf, knowing that Chris McIntosh wasn't well-loved as an athletic director. Eichorst can't come in and say, "We've already arrived; I just get to babysit this thing." That would be bad.
Yet, if he meant the football program, which is clearly what the question was about, then it's terrible. There's not a worse thing you can say as the incoming AD. You were brought in to fix this mess, and yes, it's fine to check things out and even see if Luke Fickell can turn things around this season. But it's another thing to say, "We are already at the next level."
The next level can't be four-win football seasons and the lowest attendance total for a Camp Randall home opener since 1992. That's not the next level. The next level is the College Football Playoff and winning the Big Ten. The next level is finding consistent success on the field with winning and off the field in recruiting.
What's happened in the football program the last few seasons is unacceptable, and even Luke Fickell will admit that. So hopefully, Eichorst just heard wrong because he for sure answered wrong. And this all happened in the middle of a game against an FCS foe in which the Badgers looked destined for another four-win season. Not great timing, and Eichorst has to be better.
He was brought in to fix things; hopefully he understands that and actually does it. But this comment leaves a lot of doubt.
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