Celebrating the legacy of Barry Alvarez

By ANDY BAGGOT

December 7, 2010

His induction tonight into the College Football Hall of Fame couldn't come at a better time.

Barry Alvarez has always had a remarkable sense of timing and today is a perfect example of that.

His two careers — his two legacies — have conveniently merged under the same bright spotlight for all to appreciate.

Alvarez is in New York City to be inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame. It's the ultimate reward for the extraordinary work he did as University of Wisconsin coach for 16 years.

You should know the script by heart: Alvarez took over a decrepit UW program and built it into one that claimed three Big Ten Conferences titles and prevailed in three Rose Bowls. Along the way he won a school-record 118 games, including eight bowls, and became the first coach in league history to win back-to-back Rose Bowls (1998, '99).

That resume explains why so many family members, friends, colleagues and former Badgers players will be decked out in tuxedos and gowns at the famed Waldorf-Astoria in New York City tonight sharing the moment with Alvarez.

In terms of worthiness, Alvarez is certainly the equal of the eight other UW inductees: Pat Richter (1996), Pat Harder ('93), Marty Below ('88), Alan Ameche ('75), Elroy Hirsch ('74), Robert Butler ('72), Pat O'Dea ('62) and Dave Schreiner ('55).

What has to be fun for Alvarez is that while his past life is the focus of this event, his present-day role as UW athletic director is sure to be a prime topic of conversation as well.

Before Alvarez stepped down as Badgers coach, he hired his replacement and showed him the ropes. That wedding of instincts and methodology is being celebrated five years later now that UW has won a share of the Big Ten title and is headed for the Rose Bowl under Bret Bielema.

At the very same moment, Alvarez's abilities as a coach and as a CEO are being validated in positive, prominent ways. That's pretty remarkable when you consider how different those journeys were.

When Alvarez began his coaching tenure at UW in 1990, he had a specific, well-crafted plan: Build a championship program from scratch and sustain it. He did so, setting the stage for a massive athletic renaissance that continues today at 1440 Monroe St.

When Alvarez began his tenure as AD in 2004, his agenda wasn't so well defined. Outside of fulfilling his career-day goal of following in the footsteps of his college mentor, Bob Devaney — who famously transitioned from being Nebraska football coach to its athletic director — Alvarez struggled in those early days to articulate his vision.

One thing he knew for certain was that the football program, the one he nursed out of the ICU to robust health, had to stay strong. Alvarez worked two jobs for two years during which time he found Bielema and began grooming him as his replacement.

Many questioned Bielema's abilities early on, especially after the Badgers regressed from 12-1 overall to 7-6 during his first three years, but this season is a convincing argument that Alvarez made an astute hire.

With his coaching legend intact and his biggest personnel decision as CEO a certified hit, Alvarez has a greater sense of his future as AD. He wants to someday leave UW Athletics in better shape than he found it — no mean feat — which means continued fiscal awareness and getting the Athletic Performance Center and hockey practice facilities built.

Alvarez will resume working on the future, but first up, another look tonight at his honorable past.

Badgers coach Bret Bielema changing perceptions

October 28, 2010

MADISON, Wis. (AP) - Wisconsin athletics director Barry Alvarez slipped across a crowded interview room to embrace coach Bret Bielema not long after the Badgers toppled then-No. 1 Ohio State two weeks ago.

Bielema's face was flush with a combination of relief, excitement and energy after a resounding 31-18 victory over the Buckeyes on national television. Little did the pair realize that the bigger win was seven days away with a 31-30 win at Iowa, Bielema's alma mater.

In eight days, the fifth-year coach shed the perception that he couldn't win the biggest games. Now, Bielema's profile is rising and his ninth-ranked Badgers (7-1, 3-1 Big Ten) are battle tested.

For all the success Wisconsin has had since Alvarez led a rebuilt program to consecutive Rose Bowl appearances in 1999 and 2000, the Badgers have never quite broken down the perception that they're big, slow and boring - at least on offense.

Bielema even jokes that his team would never be considered flashy or sexy. Of course, this is the same guy who used a fake punt and converted two fourth downs on the final drive against the Hawkeyes.

"To have such a high, play so well against the No. 1 team in the country, is one thing, but, to manage your team after being emotionally spent and playing in a physical game and being drained, turn it around, having them ready to play a very good Iowa team on the road, overcome all those injuries and find a way to win that game, that speaks to itself,'' Alvarez said. "That's very difficult to do."

So difficult, in fact, Alvarez, who also took the Badgers to the Rose Bowl in 1994, never knocked off a No. 1 team or beat a ranked Iowa team in Iowa City in his 16 seasons. Wisconsin last beat ranked teams in consecutive weeks in 1954.

"The thing that's probably jumped out the last two weeks is the exposure that we've gotten and the amount of people who want to jump in our boat,'' Bielema said.

And while Wisconsin is suddenly a hot name in recruiting, the coach gives the current credit to his players' preparation. He hasn't cited his catchphrase much this year: a "1-0 mentality,'' but the proof came against the Hawkeyes when his team rallied late with a 15-play, 80-yard game-winning drive.

Bielema's players say that toughness describes their coach's intensity.

"If he could go out there and play every snap, I'm sure he would,'' safety Aaron Henry said. "The monkey finally jumped off his back. I think for him, man-to-man, he's a very young coach, he has a tremendous future ahead of him. People are going to find something to say when you're not winning, I can remember in the bowl game people were saying we weren't going to beat Miami, but we pulled that off.

"With Coach B, when people say he can't do something, he tries to defy the odds. He's always trying to get after it."

Alvarez picked his successor after Bielema had spent just two years as defensive coordinator. Bielema is moving out from his boss's shadow.

Not that he doesn't rely on Alvarez, who had 118 career victories.

"Bret's not afraid,'' Alvarez said. "In that position, you have to have a sounding board. He hasn't been bashful. He's asked questions, he asks for opinions. Sometimes he uses them, sometimes he doesn't. But he has another view of how to do things.''

Wisconsin's power running foundation is straightforward, but the Badgers, who are off this week before playing at Purdue on Nov. 6, certainly are an entertaining crew.

There's the neat freak signal caller Scott Tolzien, a comedian on the offensive line in John Moffitt, the funky hair designs of running back John Clay and a former pizza delivery driver, J.J. Watt, who now chases down quarterbacks with frightening intensity.

Tolzien has been described as the perfect quarterback for the Badgers' system by teammates and opponents, even though he wasn't recruited by big schools until Wisconsin came in late. He spent his first three years watching, but he's gone 17-4 as a starter under Bielema and offensive coordinator Paul Chryst.

Bielema also acknowledges quickly when he's made a mistake.

J.J. Watt was a lightly recruited tight end and said Bielema told him point blank the 6-foot-6 Watt wasn't big enough to play the position for the Badgers. Watt later walked on, earned a scholarship as a defensive end and is now one of the biggest playmakers in the Big Ten.

"I can't be more thankful for Coach B for just trusting in me and believing in me that much,'' Watt said. "I've seen people criticize him in the media and people criticize him all over the place, but you can't argue with his results. It's unbelievable."

The 40-year-old Bielema, a walk-on himself at Iowa who later became a starter and captain, is 45-15 overall, and now 7-10 against Top 25 opponents. He grew up on a pig farm near Prophetstown, Ill., and has a Hawkeyes tattoo on his leg. It's the work ethic and honesty his players admire.

"He has that 'put-your-hand-in-the-ground-and-just-go-to-work' mentality. That definitely rubs off on our football team,'' Watt said. "He runs a tough football program, but we like it. We like working hard and it definitely helps us in the end.''

Bielema insists he's only focused on a week at a time and will reflect on the season when it's over. When he finally does, a different image of the up-and-coming coach may finally emerge.

"You have to win big games to get national respect,'' Alvarez said. "That's exactly what he did. People saw it first hand and have acknowledged, 'Hey, he's doing some things right up there.'"

Iowa Sports Hall of Fame:Barry Alvarez fueled football legacy in Mason City

BY ANDREW LOGUE

JULY 25, 2010

The walls of apathy crumbled when Barry Alvarez arrived in Mason City.

It was 1976 — a time when bell-bottoms were more common than barbells – and the 29-year-old coach ushered in a new era of Mohawk football by renovating the high school’s training facilities.

“He and the assistant coaches went in there with a sledge hammer,” recalls Scott Raridon, a former offensive lineman. “They say in ‘77 he had the nicest weight room in the state … and it was built by hand.”

A state championship followed in ’78, establishing the blueprint for achievement that Alvarez would use while transforming Wisconsin into a Big Ten Conference powerhouse of the 1990s.

He now becomes the 203rd inductee to the Des Moines Sunday Register’s Iowa Sports Hall of Fame.

“I think his players just thought the world of him,” former Iowa coach Hayden Fry said. “And, of course, when they really like a coach, they’re going to listen to him.”

Alvarez was a member of Fry’s Hawkeye staff from 1979-86, then served as linebackers coach and later became the defensive coordinator for Lou Holtz at Notre Dame.

He also played linebacker for the iconic Bob Devaney at Nebraska from 1965-67. But his blunt, hands-on approach to the game was developed in the steel-mill town of Langeloth, Pa., where Alvarez’s family settled after his grandparents immigrated to the United States.

“I’m very proud of my heritage,” Alvarez said. “My family comes from Northern Spain. I still have uncles, aunts and cousins back there.”

The man who would guide Wisconsin to three Rose Bowl victories was a successful coach in Lexington, Neb., before being lured to Mason City.

He inherited a team in need of remodeling.

“The enthusiasm was just gone,” Raridon said. “They were getting 30 kids out for football and hadn’t won a game in so long. The program was just a disaster.”

The 6-foot-3 Raridon figured his athletic future would be in basketball.

Instead, with Alvarez providing a nudge, he would go on to earn all-America honors as an offensive tackle for Nebraska.

“If Barry Alvarez doesn’t go to Mason City,” Raridon says, “my whole entire life is different. No doubt about it.”

Alvarez secured the money for state-of-the-art workout equipment, then began forming a bond with his players.

Together, they made old Roosevelt Stadium, located on Pennsylvania Avenue, a Friday night hot spot.

“There are some who lead and coach by fear,” Raridon said. “And there are some who lead and coach by loyalty. Barry Alvarez is a loyalty guy. As a player, you just absolutely did not want to let him down.”

The Mohawks lost just once — a triple-overtime defeat to Fort Dodge — en route to the 1978 Class 4-A state championship. When they beat the Dodgers in a playoff semifinal, a pep rally was held at a disco hall known as “The Runway.”

Alvarez celebrated by having his head shaved and selling the hair as part of a fund-raiser.

“I thought it was a great town,” said Alvarez, who is now the Wisconsin athletic director. “I thought it was a very active town, people who got involved.

“It was a fun time.”

It also proved to be a turning point for Alvarez, who was hired by Fry a few months later.

“My theory was, to do a good job of recruiting Iowa, I needed to have a couple successful high school coaches from the state,” said Fry, who took over the Hawkeye program in ‘79. “When I had him come in for an interview, he was extremely impressive, fundamentally very sound in coaching communication.”

Alvarez joined a fraternity of assistants that included future Division I coaches Kirk Ferentz (Iowa), Bill Snyder (Kansas State) and Dan McCarney (Iowa State).

“Barry relates very well with people,” Ferentz said. “And the players responded to him in a very, very strong way.”

Alvarez spent three seasons at Notre Dame, helping the Fighting Irish post a 32-5 record and winning a national title in 1988. Holtz eventually promoted him to assistant head coach.

“They both had different philosophies, yet they were both sound,” Alvarez said when asked to compare Fry and Holtz. “There is different ways to get the job done, which told me to build my own.”

He was given that opportunity at Wisconsin, which went 6-27 from 1987-89.

The Badgers were 1-10 in 1990, Alvarez’s first year.

“I remember being over at Northwestern, and getting pummeled pretty good,” former Iowa and Wisconsin assistant Bernie Wyatt said. He also remembers telling Alvarez, “Jeez, we’ve got a long way to go, Barry.”

Alvarez responded: “We’ll get there.”

“That’s the way his demeanor was,” Wyatt said. “You can’t go in with any negatives.”

Again, Alvarez sparked donors and upgraded the weight-lifting facilities.

The payoff was a share of the Big Ten crown in 1993, and a 21-16 triumph over UCLA in the Rose Bowl.

“It’s just phenomenal,” Ferentz said. “They had really fallen off … Things just kind of dropped off the table there for a little while. It was really amazing to see how they built the program back up, and the level of success that they experienced.”

Alvarez posted a 118-73-4 record before retiring after the 2005 season, making him the winningest coach in school history.

He also boasts a growing list of ex-assistants with notable careers, such as Bill Callahan, who led the Oakland Raiders to a Super Bowl, Brad Childress, the current coach of the Minnesota Vikings, and Bret Bielema, who succeeded Alvarez at Wisconsin.

The foundation, however, is still fortified by the relationship Alvarez maintains with his players.

“It’s just an aura about him, or something,” said Raridon, whose son, Scott Jr., played at Mason City and later Notre Dame. “You can tell he cares, and it reflects. I guarantee you he could call players from the 1970s, ’90s, 2000s, and if he needed it, they would all rally behind him. “No doubt about it.”

Alvarez To Be Inducted Into College Football Hall Of Fame

Ex-Badgers Coach Now Works As Athletic Director

May 28, 2010

MADISON, Wis. -- University of Wisconsin-Madison athletic director Barry Alvarez will be inducted in the College Football Hall of Fame, according to an announcement on Thursday morning.

"I was totally surprised when they announced that I would be inducted," said Alvarez. "I actually broke down. I was sitting with our, with my coach, Bret Bielema at the time and I think he broke down. It's an honor. It's humbling, when it's your life work and it culminates like this."

Hall of Fame officials said that the former Badgers coach joins a list of legends in the college football world in the Hall of Fame.

Alvarez coached the badgers from 1990 to 2005, winning 118 games and three Rose Bowl championships.

Before Alvarez arrived in Madison in 1990, Wisconsin compiled a 9-36 record over four seasons and attendance at Camp Randall Stadium was just over half-full for most games.

The program got a boost when new Director of Athletics Pat Richter hired Alvarez from Notre Dame, where he had been an assistant coach under Lou Holtz.

Over the next 16 seasons Alvarez transformed the football program and the culture of athletics at the UW.

Alvarez's feats are numerous. He is the winningest coach in school history (118-73-4).

He is the only Big Ten coach ever to win the Rose Bowl in Consecutive seasons (1999, 2000).

"To see what coach Alvarez has done at Wisconsin, and it's a state that I love," said fellow Hall-of-Famer Desmond Howard. "I love the state of Wisconsin. Go Pack go, but to read what (Alvarez has) been able to accomplish, I'm talking about the only coach in the Big Ten history to win back-to-back Rose Bowls. That's just unbelievable to me. For him to be able to accomplish that, we're not talking about great coaches, we're talking about legendary coaches in the Big Ten."

Alvarez was named national coach of the year in 1993 and Big Ten Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1998.

Barry Alvarez is now in his fifth year as Director of Athletics at the University of Wisconsin and third without the additional title of head football coach. Alvarez served as A.D. and football coach from 2004-05.

NC Sports clients: Four of top 10 Big Ten coaches of the decade

Big Ten coaches of the decade

________________________________________
By Adam Rittenberg

January 22, 2010

It's time to look back at the best Big Ten coaches of the decade. The top choice was a no brainer. After that, it gets interesting.

Here's a looksie:

1. Jim Tressel, Ohio State: Other than USC's Pete Carroll, no coach dominated a major conference this decade like Tressel dominated the Big Ten. Since 2001, Tressel has won a national title, six Big Ten titles (outright or shared), five bowls and four BCS bowls. He owns a 94-21 record at Ohio State, and, perhaps more impressive, a 59-13 mark in Big Ten play. This was unquestionably the decade of The Vest.

2. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa: Ferentz revived a struggling Iowa program this decade and restored the Hawkeyes among the Big Ten's elite. Since 2002, he has guided Iowa to two Big Ten championships, four seasons of 10 or more victories and eight bowl games, winning five of them. Iowa owns four top-10 finishes this decade under Ferentz, who gets a slight edge over Lloyd Carr.

3. Lloyd Carr, Michigan: It seems like a while since Michigan last won a Big Ten title, but Carr's teams claimed three of them (two shared, one outright) in the first half of the decade. Michigan finished first or second in the league in seven of the eight years Carr coached this decade. He struggled against Tressel and in the Rose Bowl, but Carr's accomplishments shouldn't be overlooked.

4. Joe Paterno, Penn State: Paterno is right up there with Tressel in the second half of the decade, winning two Big Ten championships and averaging 10.2 wins per season between 2005-09. Four losing seasons in the first half of the decade sting a bit, but JoePa is getting better with age!

5. Joe Tiller, Purdue: Tiller won his only Big Ten title in 2000, and Purdue reached bowl games in the first seven years of the decade. Purdue's all-time coaching victories leader made the Boilers into a consistent upper-half Big Ten team in the aughts.

6. Bret Bielema, Wisconsin: Bielema probably hates being listed ahead of his boss and predecessor, but his record in the past four years speaks for itself. He owns a 38-14 record at Wisconsin (20-12 Big Ten) and has taken the Badgers to bowl games each year. Bielema coached Wisconsin's best team of the decade in 2006, a squad that went 12-1 and finished seventh in the final AP Poll.

7. Barry Alvarez, Wisconsin: Alvarez was arguably the Big Ten's Coach of the 1990s, and he kept the program among the league's elite until he stepped down following the 2005 season. He had three seasons of eight or more victories and won three bowls during the decade. Alvarez's best season this decade came in his last, as Wisconsin went 10-3 and beat Auburn in the Capital One Bowl.

8. Glen Mason, Minnesota: Mason coached Minnesota to six bowls in seven years until his dismissal after the 2006 Insight Bowl. He oversaw one of the nation's top rushing attacks this decade as backs Laurence Maroney and Marion Barber III piled up yardage. Mason had a 10-win season in 2003, but his inability to get Minnesota to the next level led to his firing. He went just 24-32 in Big Ten play this decade.

9. Mark Dantonio, Michigan State: Dantonio has stabilized a Michigan State program that really underachieved for most of the decade. The Spartans have reached bowls in each of Dantonio's three seasons as head coach. Dantonio owns a 13-11 mark in Big Ten play, which is much better than his predecessors.

10. Pat Fitzgerald and Randy Walker, Northwestern: The two Wildcats coaches share this spot after bringing consistency to a program that reached historic lows before 1995. Walker won a Big Ten championship in 2000 and took NU to three bowls in six years this decade. Fitzgerald, who took over after Walker's sudden death in 2006, owns 17-9 record (10-6 Big Ten) in the last two seasons. Expect him to be much higher on this list in the next decade recap.

Alvarez to be inducted into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame

By BILL SCOTT

DECEMBER 7, 2009

Rose Bowl Game legends Barry Alvarez, Tom Hansen and John Hicks headline the 2009 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame class to be installed at the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Dec. 30, 2009. The Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to honor members of the Rose Bowl Game family who have contributed to the history and excitement of the game, and those who embody the best of the passion, strength, tradition and honor associated with “The Granddaddy of Them All.”

Alvarez is currently the Athletic Director at Wisconsin. He spent 16 seasons building a nationally well-respected program before retiring in 2005 to his current post. Alvarez is the winningest coach in Wisconsin football history and is the only Big Ten coach to win Rose Bowl Games in back-to-back years (1999, 2000) and joins Ohio State’s Woody Hayes as the only Big Ten coach with at least three Rose Bowl Game wins.

Alvarez finished his career with 118 coaching wins, a Wisconsin record, an 8-3 mark in 11 career bowl games and garnered the 1993 National Coach of the Year and two Big Ten Coach of the Year awards.

Bowling Green-Wisconsin Football Game

Sunday, July 23, 2006

Among the many interesting storylines to the Sept. 2 Bowling Green-Wisconsin football game at Cleveland Browns Stadium:

Wisconsin offensive line coach Bob Palcic is a former Browns assistant. His daughter, Amy, is a Browns public-relations official.

Wisconsin offensive coordinator Paul Chryst is the brother of Rick Chryst, commissioner of the Mid-American Conference. The MAC is based in Cleveland, and Bowling Green is a conference member.

Wisconsin head coach Bret Bielema and his Bowling Green counterpart, Gregg Brandon, are both represented by agent Neil Cornrich, head of NC Sports in Beachwood. Cornrich also represents Wisconsin Athletic Director Barry Alvarez, the UW legend who preceded Bielema as Badgers head coach.