Luke Fickell to officially return next season

Luke Fickell will be back as the head coach of the Wisconsin football team in 2026.

It’s something we already knew was coming. Still, today, Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh told ESPN that Luke Fickell would return as the head coach of the Wisconsin football team in a move that comes with a “significant increase in financial investment.”

After the Badgers’ loss to Maryland, when the ‘Fire Fickell’ chants began, McIntosh met with some select reporters and gave the Wisconsin head coach a vote of confidence.

Shortly after, the Wisconsin AD released a statement just a few weeks ago, stating the importance of more financial support for the football program to be successful. The number that was floating around was around $30 million, which would be allocated towards the program for NIL and coaching upgrades.

Coincidentally, Fickell’s buyout number is reportedly in that neighborhood. So, rather than spending that money on a buyout of Fickell, Wisconsin is going to give the program a cash infusion in hopes that being more competitive in the portal with NIL will give them a better chance at competing after this season.

Fickell returning as the head of the program seemed like a foregone conclusion.

So with Fickell’s return in 2026 officially official, what’s next?

Can Fickell keep the 2026 class together?

First, he needs to keep what talent he has in the 2026 class committed to the Badgers. In an already small class, Fickell and his staff cannot afford to lose more recruits, especially his top players.

Running back Amari Latimer, who is arguably the top recruit in the class, has taken a visit to Ohio State and Tennessee over the past couple of weekends. If Fickell were to return, the chances that Latimer would stay with Wisconsin are supposedly higher.

Wide receiver Jayden Petit, who picked Wisconsin over Oklahoma last summer, is also starting to weigh his options, taking other visits.

With Fick sticking around for another year, you’d hope that would keep current committed players in the fold. But with the performance on the field being what it is, you could understand why a recruit may want to look elsewhere, too.

In-state recruiting needs to improve

Another knock on Fickell and his staff is not making in-state recruiting a priority.

Wisconsin recruits have been a huge part of the program for a long time. Barry Alvarez talked about the importance of building a wall around the state to keep those players home. That all continued until Fickell and his staff took over. They tend to focus more on national recruiting, drawing criticism after Wisconsin recruits commit to rivals like Minnesota, Iowa, and Indiana.

The 2027 in-state class is loaded with highly-rated recruits. Among those are Korz Loken (No. 4 TE nationally), Cole Reiter (No. 17 OT), Richie Flanagan (No. 39 DL - committed to Notre Dame), and Isaac Miller (No. 41 EDGE).

This class is reminiscent of the 2022 class that included six 4-star recruits, including Joe Brunner (Wisconsin), Billy Schrauth (Notre Dame), Carson Hinzman (Ohio State), Isaac Hamm (Wisconsin), Jerry Cross (Penn State), and Barrett Nelson (Wisconsin).

Yes, recruiting nationally is important to hang with the top programs in the country, but ignoring in-state recruiting as much as they have makes it very hard to keep in-state products at home when you do want one. That sense of pride and loyalty to playing for the hometown Badgers doesn’t seem to be there anymore.

If Fickell wants more support, spending more time with in-state recruiting would be a good start.

The future of the program has some bright spots

Even though many fans wanted to see Fickell on his way out, the head coach gets another chance to get this program turned around. He’ll have a young core that has shown some promise to help him out.

Inside linebackers Mason Posa and Cooper Catalano both got a start against Oregon and put up some impressive numbers. Wide receiver Eugene Hilton has shown some flashes this year, too, including what should have been a 43-yard touchdown reception that was called short.

But ultimately, the biggest question mark moving forward is the quarterback position. It’s been a problem since Fickell took over, and not because of the players he’s brought in, but injuries have been a major problem. Carter Smith is the true freshman quarterback and prized recruit of the 2025 class. With just four games remaining on an already lost season, the expectation is that we will get to see Smith in a few games here moving forward. If he shows some promise against Washington, Illinois, Indiana, and/or Minnesota, that could provide a nice foundation for Fickell next season.

Whether you wanted to see Fickell back or not, it doesn’t matter. The decision has been made. Fickell will be back in 2026, but he has his work cut out for him. He needs to make some major improvements, and fast.

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