Oct 2, 2021; Madison, Wisconsin, USA; Former Wisconsin Badgers athletic director and football head coach Barry Alvarez looks on during the second quarter against the Michigan Wolverines at Camp Randall Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

Barry Alvarez calls Wisconsin Badgers fans 'spoiled rotten' for booing Luke Fickell

Originally posted on Wisconsin Badgers on SI
By Kedrick Stumbris | Last updated Sep 23, 2025 7:30 AM ET

A lackluster start to the college football season has tensions brewing in Madison. After the Wisconsin Badgers fell to 2-2 with their first-ever loss to the Maryland Terrapins, Wisconsin football head coach Luke Fickell was booed off his team's home field heading into a bye week.

The first two days of that week off have proven quite tumultuous. Some Wisconsin fans have broken into chants of "fire Fickell," and others begged for the return of former defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard. Badgers Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh issued a public statement supporting his football coach, then was seen the following day with another coach who recently returned to the job market.

Ultimately, it was those chants that set off legendary Wisconsin Badgers football coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez.

Barry Alvarez calls fans 'disrespectful' for reaction to Wisconsin Badgers loss

“’ .”

️Barry Alvarez on #Badgers fans chanting “Fire Fickell” during Saturday’s loss to Maryland. pic.twitter.com/uMgUuq69ph
— ESPN Madison (@ESPNMadison) September 22, 2025

In his weekly radio show on ESPN Madison, Alvarez did not hold back on his thoughts about how fans treated Wisconsin football coaches and players on Saturday.

"I think it's embarrassing," the three-time Big Ten champion remarked bluntly. "I think it's terrible, despicable. They're spoiled rotten."

The two-time Big Ten Coach of The Year knows first-hand what it is like to struggle as a head football coach in Madison. During his first three seasons with the Badgers, Alvarez's teams posted a combined 5-19 record in Big Ten play. Fickell's teams through two full seasons and one game in 2025 are 8-11 in conference.

"Here's a team that, you got young players trying to come on, that are competing," Alvarez said. "They're gonna have a chance to get better, and you flip on them. Early in the season, and you flip on them, and you're chanting for the coach? How do you think that makes the players feel?

"That's disrespectful. It's not loyal. You're not a fan. If a person is sitting next to me, booing, I'm telling them 'Get your ass out of here, we don't need you in here. You don't want to watch this? Go someplace else. Go boo in a bar.'

"That really upsets me."

Fickell's tenure has not gotten off to the start Wisconsin football fans would have hoped for. The Badgers finished the regular season 6-6 in 2023 and missed a bowl game for the first time in 23 years in 2024.