MADISON (WKOW) -- The University of Wisconsin-Madison officially introduced
Gary Andersen as the Badgers' new head football coach during a Friday morning
news conference.
Andersen takes over for Bret Bielema, who left Wisconsin for the head
coaching job at Arkansas earlier this month.
Athletic Director and former Badgers football coach Barry Alvarez is coaching
the team in the Rose Bowl against Stanford, and Andersen said he will be a "fly
on the wall" during Rose Bowl preparations and at the game.
"These kids need to go win a Rose Bowl. The last thing they need for me is to
hang around Coach Alvarez," Andersen said.
Alvarez says he feels confident the former Utah State coach is a good fit for
Wisconsin, saying "All the things he (Andersen) believes in, I believe in."
Alvarez also praised Andersen for fielding physical, well-coached defenses at
his last job as head coach at Utah State, and said while he met face-to-face
with three candidates he only offered the job to Andersen.
Andersen said he knew right away he would take the job. He stated during the
news conference his belief that Wisconsin is considered a top 20 college
football program and has all the tools needed to compete on the recruiting trail
and football field.
He answered questions about his offensive and defensive coaching
philosophies, as well as his priorities for recruiting and building
relationships with the team's returning players.
