The University of Wisconsin-Madison has a new director of athletics.
The university named Chris McIntosh as the next director of athletics on Wednesday. McIntosh is the university's deputy athletic director.
Barry Alvarez always called him one of his two best captains.
"It was overwhelming," Chris McIntosh says. "There was a tremendous amount of emotion. It was surreal. At the same time, I felt very proud. It's a tremendous honor and a tremendous opportunity and a tremendous responsibility. And all of those emotions collided at that moment, and you know I'm still grappling with those."
But if you expect Chris McIntosh to be a clone of Barry Alvarez and those before him, think again.
"The statue is not a motivator to me," McIntosh says. "I think it's probably a losing proposition to try to compare to Barry. I'm a different person than Barry is, and I have a different approach. And you know the challenges that our program has faced in the past, you know, Barry and Pat, caused our program to be risen out of the ashes. The challenges are different today. The context is different today."
McIntosh succeeds Barry Alvarez and Pat Richter, two athletic directors that really put the Badgers on the map, and back to respectibility.
"Chris is a natural leader who loves the Badgers and cares about our student-athletes," said Chancellor Rebecca Blank. "He is uniquely positioned to continue our proud traditions of success on and off the field and doing things 'the right way.' Chris will build upon those traditions and has a strong vision for leading the program during a time of change in college athletics."
"I owe so much to the University of Wisconsin, and I'm deeply honored to be able to succeed Barry Alvarez," said McIntosh, a first-generation college graduate from Pewaukee. "We will build upon our legacy of success on the field of competition and support our student-athletes in the classroom, on campus, and after college."
Prior to serving as the deputy athletic director, McIntosh served as the associate athletic director for business development for UW Athletics. He holds a masters and bachelors degree from UW-Madison.
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