Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh has made it clear that head coach Luke Fickell will return in 2026, and with a much bigger financial investment. Now, Ted Kellner, one of the universities most prominent donors, has gone on to say the newly formed budget will be one of the bigger budgets in the country.
"We did not operate with the same budget everybody else did, and our budget next year for football will put us in the top third," said Kellner to ESPN Madison's Kyle, Brust and Nortman.
"Next year we should be well up the food chain in terms of competing...and it will be one of the contributing factors as to why I think we will be much more competitive."
Is money alone enough to fix Wisconsin football?
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While the influx of cash is certainly a welcome sight, there's no guarantee it fixes all of the Badgers' issues. From poor play on the field, to a mass exodus of recruits flipping or de-committing, Wisconsin still has its fair share of problems to work through.
Wisconsin fans have been put through the wringer over the last few seasons and are eager to see football return to the standard it had held for decades prior. Money is certainly a good first step, but it all comes down to how Fickell and company use it.
Although Kellner's claims would be near impossible to verify, if the Badgers did jump into the top third of funding, there's no doubt that the portal would become a much more valuable asset for Wisconsin. Still, just landing elite talent isn't enough to silence the doubters; the wins will eventually need to start stacking up regardless of financials.
The big question may be, when does that funding start ? The 2026 class in unraveling and the only option may be the portal.