Former Wisconsin athletic director and football coach Barry Alvarez will have the field at UW’s Camp Randall Stadium named after him beginning with the 2022 season.
According to UW-Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank, more than 60 donors contributed $13 million-plus in honor of Alvarez. In recognition, the field will be known as Barry Alvarez Field at Camp Randall Stadium.
"Barry Alvarez has had an immeasurable impact on the UW-Madison campus and beyond in the state and in college sports," Blank said during a ceremony Friday at Camp Randall. "This type of career deserves recognition at the highest level.”
Alvarez was Wisconsin’s athletic director 18 years before retiring in 2021. During his tenure as football coach from 1990 to 2005, Alvarez went 119-74-4 with three Big Ten titles and three Rose Bowl wins.
(Photo: Dylan Buell / Getty Images)
Alvarez's legacy at Wisconsin
Jesse Temple, Wisconsin beat reporter: It’s safe to say nobody in the history of Wisconsin athletics has played a greater role in its success than Alvarez. When he took over Wisconsin’s football program in 1990, the Badgers were a Big Ten laughingstock. Meanwhile, the athletics department was $2.1 million in debt. Alvarez brought renewed confidence and, in his fourth season, did the unthinkable by guiding Wisconsin to a Rose Bowl win.
Wisconsin’s average home attendance before Alvarez took over was 41,734 — down from 68,052 three years earlier. Alvarez filled Camp Randall Stadium again and went on to win three Rose Bowls. He is the biggest reason the Badgers are now a perennial Big Ten power.
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His impact on college football
Temple: The turnaround job Alvarez orchestrated at Wisconsin ranks on par with any school in college football history. He led Wisconsin out of the Big Ten doldrums and into a new era and was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame. Alvarez showed that, with the right vision and approach, a coach can find success just about anywhere. But Alvarez also became one of the prominent voices for the sport and participated on the initial College Football Playoff committee.
Coming in 2022: Barry Alvarez Field at Camp Randall Stadium pic.twitter.com/grqdB5dNbd
— Wisconsin Football (@BadgerFootball) October 2, 2021
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