MADISON, Wis. – University of Wisconsin-Madison Athletic Director Barry Alvarez will receive additional compensation of $118,500 for taking on Rose Bowl coaching responsibilities, under a plan approved by the Executive Committee of the UW System Board of Regents today.
The funds will come from former coach Bret Bielema’s $1-million contract buy-out, to be paid to UW-Madison by the University of Arkansas.
As head football coach from 1990 through 2005, Alvarez rebuilt Wisconsin football tradition and led the Badgers to Rose Bowl titles in 1994, 1999 and 2000.
After Bielema’s unexpected departure to take the Arkansas head coaching job last week, Badgers team captains asked Alvarez to coach the Badgers against Stanford on New Year’s Day and he agreed.
For the month of December, Alvarez will receive 90 percent of Bielema’s monthly football coaching salary ($195,000) plus 10 percent of his current athletic director salary ($8,500), for a total of $203,500, which represents a one-time $118,500 increase in his monthly salary.
If the Badgers win the Rose Bowl under Alvarez’s leadership, he would also be eligible for a $50,000 bonus, under the UW-Madison Athletic Board’s existing post-season bonus policy. That bonus amount would be identical to what Bielema would have received for winning the bowl game.
“We weighed the factors involved, including the unique circumstances that developed less than a month before the game, the challenges of the job, the marketplace and his strength as a coach and concluded that this is a reasonable arrangement,” said Brent Smith, President of the UW System Board of Regents.
Interim Chancellor David Ward agreed.
“Coach Alvarez has a one-of-a-kind skill set that the university needs to be successful – both in the Rose Bowl and in attracting the best coaching candidates in the search for someone to lead the Badgers’ football program going forward,” Ward said. “We believe that this package is fair and proportional.”
University officials also acknowledged the work of Sean Frazier, deputy athletic director, in taking on additional responsibilities during this period.
Media contacts:
David Giroux
UW System
608-262-4464
dgiroux@uwsa.edu
Vince Sweeney
UW-Madison
608-265-2822
vsweeney@wisc.edu