Bret Bielema shocked many when it was announced yesterday that he would be leaving Wisconsin to become the head coach at Arkansas. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach reported at the time that Bielema wanted to coach the Badgers in their third consecutive Rose Bowl.
However, all signs point to Bielema’s former boss and coaching predecessor, Barry Alvarez, leading Wisconsin against Stanford. The Wisconsin State-Journal reports that “the team’s captains reached out to Alvarez and asked him to coach the team against Stanford on Jan. 1. Alvarez told them he would be “honored” to do so.”
Alvarez, Wisconsin’s athletic director announced his intention on Thursday. Bielema said Wednesday when he was introduced as the Razorbacks’ new coach that he believed Alvarez would coach the game.
“They might finally win one,” Bielema joked. Bielema is 0-2 in the Rose Bowl.
Alvarez has a 3-0 record in the Rose Bowl, twice beating UCLA in 1994 and ’99, and defeating Stanford the following year.