Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell met with the media on Monday in advance of the Badgers’ Week 6 matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers.
One topic of discussion looked back to the team’s 38-21 loss to No. 11 USC, and specifically to the group of notable Badgers alumni expressing their displeasure with the current state of the program.
Related: ESPN updates Wisconsin football win chances for remaining 2024 games after Week 5 loss to USC
A significant example of that is Jack Cichy (Badgers linebacker from 2013-2017), who took to social media on Sunday to give his thoughts on the current state of affairs. His opinion on the program’s changing identity appears to be shared by many former players, several of whom are now publicly stating those opinions.
Program legend Braelon Allen’s cryptic tweet about his experience with the Badgers in 2023 only added to that discussion.
Fickell said the discussion from former players doesn’t bother him as long as it doesn’t bother those currently on the team.
“I don’t pay attention to a lot of things,” Fickell said. “Unfortunately, when you have children now that are of the age, if there is something out there they let you know. I have to do a better job of making sure they understand that, ‘no, I don’t want to hear those things.’ But it’s a part of the game. It’s all things that we have to be able to deal with. It doesn’t bother me. I only worry if it bothers our guys within our program on our team.”
Luke Fickell was asked if he needs to address former players voicing displeasure about the state of the program.
“It doesn’t bother me. I only worry if it bothers our guys in our program.”#Badgers pic.twitter.com/WRuBPKwknD
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) October 1, 2024
Fickell continued his thought, noting that passion from former players is part of what makes the program great.
“If people didn’t have passion for what it is that we’re doing, we wouldn’t have sold-out crowds. We wouldn’t have an environment that we create here and competitive advantage when guys come into our home. Because of the passion, whether it’s the fans, or former players have. That’s what makes programs great. You have got to be able to handle the ups and the downs. You have got to be able to handle the positives and the negatives, whether you’re a coach or you’re a player.”
Wisconsin picking up a decisive win over Purdue would certainly quell criticisms about the state of the program. A run to bowl eligibility against a gauntlet rest-of-season schedule would do so as well.
The dynamic of the ‘new school’ against program alumni and the ‘old school’ appears it will only continue, however. The decision to hire Luke Fickell pushed away the Paul Chryst and Jim Leonhard era, one that many of these former players were a part of. That context matters when noticing who exactly is voicing these concerns.
Winning tends to cure all in this sport. Fickell and the 2024 Badgers need to do so on Saturday against a poor Purdue team. If not, criticisms from program alumni will only continue.
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