Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wisconsin student section stages protest against Luke Fickell

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated Oct 18, 2025 7:42 PM ET

Wisconsin Badgers students are fed up with head coach Luke Fickell and staged a rather memorable protest during Saturday’s game against the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Wisconsin’s student section was empty well into the first quarter of Saturday’s game at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisc. Whether intended or not, it made for a jarring visual, with virtually no one showing up for the start of the game.

Luke Fickell single-handedly killed the Wisconsin student section: pic.twitter.com/Mtxqpag7SH
— College Sports Only (@CSOonX) October 18, 2025

What followed, however, was reminiscent of the shirtless takeover of the Oklahoma State student section last week. In this instance, however, the student section flooded with fans removing their shirts, waving them in the air, and chanting for Fickell’s firing.

Wisconsin’s student section is pulling an Oklahoma State. More and more are flocking to the section, and they’re chanting “Fire Fickell” while waving their shirts.#Badgers pic.twitter.com/dtJ5q9xsCJ
— Karl Winter (@KarlWinterTV) October 18, 2025

Wisconsin did not exactly give Fickell any help with their performance. The Badgers were behind 17-0 after one quarter and wound up losing 34-0 in a game that was never competitive.

Fickell is now in his fourth season at Wisconsin and has never done any better than 7-6. The team is now 2-5 and has yet to win a Big Ten game in 2025, prompting many Badgers fans to give up on the head coach.

Firing Fickell would be a very expensive proposition for Wisconsin. However, it would be cheaper than Penn State ousting James Franklin was.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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