Luke Fickell’s Wisconsin is hoping to compete in the Big Ten in the 2026 season and make a bowl game after missing two straight seasons. He is one of the most notable names in college football to remain in the hot seat discussion heading into the new season.
Chris Vannini Outlines a Challenging 2026 Outlook for Luke Fickell
In the “Bunch Formation” podcast, Chris Vannini and David Ubben talked about several notable head coaches entering the 2026 season under huge pressure, with Fickell being one of the names that stood out in the discussion.
“Another one very much so, where it felt like he probably would have been fired in a different era if the buyout wasn’t so high,” Vannini said.
“The school said we need to commit more NIL resources to him and then the athletic director Chris McIntosh just took a job at the Big 10. So there is a new AD who will be coming in at some point and new ADs love to hire their own coaches especially if the fans don’t like the current one. So this is a make or break year for Luke Fickell.”
McIntosh’s departure has added to the pressure surrounding Wisconsin because he was the one who aggressively pursued and hired Fickell back in late 2022. Since arriving at the school, Fickell has posted a disappointing 16-21 overall record across his first three full seasons. The stretch has also resulted in the Badgers enduring their first two-year bowl drought in more than 20 years.
According to On3, Fickell’s buyout for termination without cause would be $19.2 million if he were fired after the 2026 season. That figure is calculated at 80% of the remaining compensation left on his original contract. However, despite that protection with the buyout, the pressure surrounding him is intensifying rapidly heading into the 2026 season.
There is at least some optimism surrounding Wisconsin’s upcoming schedule, which appears far more manageable compared to previous years. The Badgers avoid several of the Big Ten Conference’s powerhouse programs, including Ohio State, Michigan, Washington, and Oregon.
Fickell has also continued reshaping the Wisconsin roster in an attempt to accelerate Wisconsin’s rebuild. The program added more than 30 transfer portal players this offseason, including quarterback Colton Joseph, running back Abu Sama III, and safety Marvin Burks Jr.
ESPN’s latest rankings don’t believe in Fickell’s rebuild at all, as a panel of writers has ranked the Badgers at No. 14 out of 18 in the Big Ten for the upcoming year. They mentioned concerns such as a weak recruiting class from the previous cycle, continued turnover on the coaching staff, major transfer losses, and ongoing issues with player development.
Meanwhile, the PFSN College Football Playoff Predictor gives Wisconsin only a 0.5% chance of reaching the College Football Playoff in 2026.
