By Fitzgerald Cecilio

Madison, WI

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez will make a one-game comeback to coach the Badgers against Stanford in the Rose Bowl.

Former coach Bret Bielema announced this at a news conference at Arkansas Wednesday.

Bielema, who lost the previous two Rose Bowls and became coach at Arkansas Tuesday, joked, "They might finally win one."

The Wisconsin State Journal reported that the team captains persuaded Alvarez to coach the team.

"We wouldn't want anyone else but coach Alvarez to coach us in this game," said linebacker Mike Taylor.

"For us, there couldn't be a better opportunity than to have coach Alvarez step in here, someone who's had success at this stage," added quarterback Curt Phillips.

"I wanted them to understand, if I was going to coach them, we weren't going to screw around, " said Alvarez.

He will announce his decision on a scheduled a news conference Thursday morning.

Alvarez led the Badgers to three Rose Bowl wins, Wisconsin's only victories in eight trips to Pasadena. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2009.

 

 

Alvarez Makes One-Day Coaching Comeback for Wisconsin