What Chris McIntosh said about leaving Wisconsin Badgers for Big Ten job

MADISON – Chris McIntosh has bid farewell to a place he has called home in many regards.

McIntosh played for the Wisconsin Badgers on some of Barry Alvarez's highly successful football teams in the late 1990s, later worked under Alvarez as an administrator and took over as athletic director after Alvarez's 2021 retirement.

Here are some of the highlights of what he said in an emailed letter addressed to "Badger Nation" after the April 13 announcement that he is taking a job as the Big Ten's deputy commissioner for strategy:

Chris McIntosh says he 'was not searching for something new'

"There is never a good time to leave an organization, especially one where I feel so connected and where there is more great work to be done," McIntosh said. "I was not searching for something new, as not only do I love the University of Wisconsin, I also believe the position of its athletic director is one of the best jobs in the country. This newly created position with the Big Ten Conference, however, represents a unique and incredible opportunity for me to draw on the experience and insight I have gained over the past many years to help shape what comes next for the conference, including the University of Wisconsin. I see it as a natural extension of my work."

Transition to Marcus Sedberry as interim AD

"Although I will no longer be in my position, I will do all that I can to assist interim director of athletics Marcus Sedberry in the transition," McIntosh said. "I am confident that Marcus, who has been a part of the UW community since 2022 and has played an integral role in every aspect of our athletics enterprise since his arrival, will do an outstanding job."

Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh watches a spring football practice at the McClain Center in Madison on March 24, 2026.

Bittersweet departure for Chris McIntosh

"It is bittersweet to leave the University of Wisconsin, a place that has had such a profound impact on me as a student and as an administrator," McIntosh said. "All of you, along with our student-athletes, coaches, and staff, are what make this place so special."

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What Chris McIntosh said about leaving Wisconsin for Big Ten role