subject: Wisconsin Badgers Football - Barry Alvarez And The Badger Revival [print this page] Wisconsin Badgers fans know all too well the tumultuous history that has often accompanied their beloved football program. The Wisconsin teams have managed to win more than 600 games, but have also endured lengthy periods in which success was elusive. One example of their times of woe came on the heels of a terrific season in 1901. That season was followed by a thirty-five year history of decline that had but one bright spot: the 1912 undefeated campaign. Years later, they would find themselves in the midst of another mediocre era, after losing their 1962 Rose Bowl Game. Thirty years of agony would follow that loss. When Barry Alvarez was brought in to coach the team in 1990, there were few who seriously expected the program to turn around.
Alvarez the man
Wisconsin certainly thought they knew what they were getting when they hired Alvarez. With experience playing the game for Bob Devaney three decades before, and coaching experience at the high school and college level, he certainly had the right resume for the position. He had even served as an assistant coach under the great Hayden Fry of Iowa, whose assistants have landed head coaching jobs across the NCAAs over the years. His brief time at Notre Dame only served t put an exclamation mark on his record. When he came to Wisconsin, Alvarez might have been the only person who expected the Wisconsin team to turn their program around. His first three years as the team's coach certainly offered little hope to any of the fans.
The early years
As often happens with new coaches, the early years of the Alvarez era were something less than spectacular. In fact, the first season's campaign saw the Badgers lose all but one of their eleven games. The next two seasons were slightly better, with a five win, six loss record in each. Still, there were already grumblings that the team was not progressing quickly enough. That all began to change as the 1993 season began.
Success at last
The Badgers looked like a different team altogether as the 1993 season started. They went through that season with only two losses, earning their fourth trip to the Rose Bowl. Though they had lost the first three Rose Bowl contests earlier in their history, Alvarez had his team ready to play that year and they achieved their first Rose Bowl win ever. In addition, his 1993 squad was honored with an Associate Press poll ranking of number six. Throughout the rest of Alvarez coaching years, the Badgers would have winning seasons every year but two, become consistent bowl-goers, and remain at or near the top of the Big Ten standings. Best of all, the Alvarez Badgers would repeat their performance in the Rose Bowl twice more, winning the Bowl in 1998, and again in 1999.
By the time he left the program after the 2005 season, Alvarez had established himself as the most successful of all of Wisconsin's many past coaches.
