Wisconsin's leadership uncertainty goes beyond AD Chris McIntosh leaving

As the Wisconsin Badgers seek their next permanent athletic director following Chris McIntosh's resignation, there are a few other question marks in Madison.

Who will be the next UW athletic director’s boss and the boss of their boss are both unclear at this point. Here are a few of the recent changes and challenges UW faces:

• UW chancellor Jennifer Mnookin will leave at the end of the semester to become the next president at Columbia University.
• Universities of Wisconsin President Jay Rothman was recently fired.
• Eric Wilcots, the dean of the College of Letters & Science, will be the interim chancellor. Mnookin said Wilcots will "take the lead in determining what a search for a new director of athletics may look like and when it will occur."
• Many of the challenges facing Wisconsin’s next AD – whether it be regarding football, NIL or other key aspects of a changing college sports landscape – also will be challenges facing Wilcots in the short term, as well as the permanent chancellor in the long term.

The looming leadership vacancies pose some obvious uncertainty for any candidate who wants to know who they would be working with and how much support they would get.

McIntosh's old job has many other enviable aspects, though, including Wisconsin's presence in the well-resourced Big Ten and foothold in the larger Milwaukee market.

UW-Madison Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin poses with Wisconsin football fans who stormed the field after their team beat No. 23 Washington on Nov. 8, 2025, at Camp Randall Stadium.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin's leadership uncertainty goes beyond Chris McIntosh leaving