When an athletic director leaves for a conference job, it usually sparks celebration. But for Wisconsin head coach Luke Fickell, it likely sparks panic. Chris McIntosh, the man who hired Fickell and served as his biggest safety net, is officially leaving Madison for the big leagues.

On April 12, Badgers insider Ben Portnoy hopped onto his X handle and revealed that Ian McIntosh traded his AD title for a Big Ten opening:

“Wisconsin AD Chris McIntosh is slated to leave the school for a newly created position in the Big Ten office, @SBJ has learned. McIntosh will report directly to Commissioner Tony Petitti and focus on the league’s broader strategy,” the SBJ writer tweeted.

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Chris McIntosh is stepping into a brand-new role as the Deputy Commissioner for Strategy. Apparently, he’ll be reporting directly to Commissioner Tony Petitti. His job will more or less consist of helping the whole conference figure out how to handle the wild new world of revenue sharing, media deals, and many other changes in college sports.

“To be able to work for the University of Wisconsin, and certainly for the last five years as athletic director, to be able to pour everything I had into transitioning Wisconsin into a changing world, it’s just been an honor. I’ve said along the way that the best thing about Wisconsin is the people. I’ve been surrounded by the best people. People who care about, first and foremost, our student-athletes and about the university. They’ve just given everything to making Wisconsin the best it can be,” McIntosh said of his time in Madison and the Badgers.

“On one hand, it’s very difficult for me to transition away from a place that’s so important to me. On the other hand, it’s an incredible honor and an incredible opportunity to be able to transition to a position at the Big Ten and to work for an incredible leader like Commissioner Petitti, alongside some top-tier, very capable members of the Big Ten, as we navigate a dynamic period for college athletics,” he added.

While his new job sounds fancy, the timing of his exit is definitely turning some heads back in Madison. He hand-picked Luke Fickell to bring Badgers football back to their glory days right after Fickell’s Cinderella run at Cincinnati with the Bearcats. However, Fickell didn’t come close to replicating that level of success in his coaching season ever again.

In his 3 season at Madison, the Badgers’ head coach is sitting at a 17–21 record and didn’t even get a conference win until very late in the season in his 2025 season (4-8). While most analysts and folks with common sense assumed this would be the end of Fickell’s era, McIntosh had just publicly promised that Fickell would stay through 2026.

Some insiders are calling this jump to the conference office a “soft landing” or even a way to avoid the heat of arguably one of the worst (if not the worst) coaching changes down the road.