Chris McIntosh Steps Down as Wisconsin Athletic Director to Join Big Ten Office

MADISON, Wis. — Chris McIntosh, who has overseen Wisconsin athletics since the summer of 2021, is resigning effective immediately to become the Big Ten Conference’s deputy commissioner for strategy, Commissioner Tony Petitti announced Monday.

The newly created league office post, which McIntosh will assume on May 1, tasks the 49-year-old former All-America offensive tackle with advising Petitti and guiding the conference’s long-range strategic initiatives. The move was first reported by the Wisconsin State Journal and Sports Business Journal.

In a letter released by the university, McIntosh said he was not actively seeking a new position but called the Big Ten opportunity “unique and incredible.”

“There is never a good time to leave an organization, especially one where I feel so connected,” McIntosh wrote. “I see it as a natural extension of my work.”

Wisconsin Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin announced that deputy athletic director/chief operating officer Marcus Sedberry will serve as interim athletic director. Mnookin, who departs for Columbia University on July 1, said interim chancellor-designate Eric Wilcots will shape the timeline and structure of the national search for McIntosh’s successor.

McIntosh returned to his alma mater in 2014 as an associate athletic director after a seven-year NFL career. He succeeded legendary coach Barry Alvarez as athletic director in 2021.

His tenure was marked by high-profile coaching changes. In 2022 he dismissed head football coach Paul Chryst and lured Luke Fickell from Cincinnati, a decision that generated headlines when the Badgers bypassed popular interim coach Jim Leonhard. Fickell has compiled a 17-21 record through two seasons, including a 4-8 mark in 2023 and a 5-7 finish in 2024 that ended Wisconsin’s 22-year streak of winning seasons.

McIntosh also replaced men’s hockey coach Tony Granato with Mike Hastings in 2023; Hastings promptly guided the Badgers to the 2025 national championship game, a 2-1 loss to Denver on Saturday.

During McIntosh’s 3½-year stewardship, Wisconsin captured three NCAA women’s ice hockey titles (2023, 2025, 2026), the 2021 women’s volleyball championship, five individual NCAA crowns, and 13 Big Ten team championships. The department’s student-athlete graduation success rate reached a record 91 percent for eight consecutive years.

“Chris has contributed much to our campus and to the broader community,” Mnookin said. “Under his leadership, student-athletes have excelled both athletically and academically.”