University of Wisconsin-Madison
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Barry Alvarez recognized before retirement By Ellie Nowakowski STAFF WRITER
Athletic Director and former head football coach Barry Alvarez is expected to retire after 32 years at UW-Madison, sources told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Alvarez started as the UW-Madison athletic director in 2004 and served as head coach of the football team for 16 seasons. Alvarez left his coaching role after the 2005 season as the winningest coach in Wisconsin history. “They better get season tickets right now, because before long they probably won’t be able to,” said Alvarez when he first became the football head coach. Before Alvarez came to Wisconsin in 1990, the Badgers made three appearances in the Rose Bowl and had never won. In just his third season as head coach, Alvarez led the Badgers to their first Rose Bowl victory, defeating UCLA 21-16. The Badgers appeared twice more in the Rose Bowl during Alvarez’s tenure, defeating UCLA again in 1998 and Stanford in 1999. “I don’t know if I’d do anything over,” Alvarez said at the end of his
final season as UW-Madison football coach. “I’m sure I’ve made mistakes, but nothing that we haven’t been able to overcome.” Although having shifted to the athletic director position in 2004, Alvarez continued to value the role he served as football coach. “I will put my emphasis on football, I cannot let football slide,” Alvarez said in the spring before taking on the athletic director position. He held both the coaching and athletic director jobs for about a year and a half before leaving the football team after its 2005 season to focus on his role as athletic director. “I still am very at peace with my decision and feel good about it,” Alvarez said of leaving the football program to focus on his athletic director role. Alvarez did much more for the Badgers during his coaching tenure than lead them to three Rose Bowl Victories and three Big Ten titles. “No one believed that Wisconsin’s program could be restored to great prominence, Barry did it with class and energy and skill,” said former Chancellor of UW-Madison Donna Shalala.
With Alvarez heading the athletic department, Wisconsin has won 16 team national titles and 73 conference or tournament titles. In 2017-18, Alvarez was honored as the Under Armour Athletic Director of the year. Alvarez left a legacy in the Badgers’ football program that followed him into his career as athletic director, returning to the Rose Bowl three times. Alvarez and his wife, Cindy, gifted UW-Madison with a quarter-million football scholarship in 2000 to show appreciation for the university. “I thought it was a small way for me to say thanks to the UW-Madison,” Alvarez said. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel broke the news of Alvarez’s expected retirement Saturday, reporting that multiple sources confirmed that Alvarez will likely announce his retirement in the next few weeks. Alvarez was previously expected to stay with UW-Madison until Jan. 1 2022, when he would receive a lumpsum payment of $375,000. However, his plans have changed, and he will retire sooner than expected, according to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
“He was very comfortable with the decision,” a source told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Alvarez wants the UW’s deputy athletic director Chris McIntosh to replace him as athletic director, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported.
he was one of ten first-round NFL draft picks that came out of Alvarez’s program, going on to play for the Seattle Seahawks. McIntosh has been the deputy athletic director since 2017 and worked for the athletic department since 2014.
COURTESY OF BRYCE RICHTER
Athletic Director Barry Alvarez is retiring after 32 years at UW-Madison. McIntosh played football for Alvarez and was an All-American offensive tackle in 1999. McIntosh played in both Badgers Rose Bowl victories circa 1998 and 1999. And,
Chancellor Rebecca Blank will ultimately select the next athletic director, though Alvarez hopes to see McIntosh replace him, reported the Wisconsin State Journal.
As pandemic grinds on, students struggle with mental health By Sophia Vento STAFF WRITER
Mental health has been a topic of campus conversation for months, as the challenges of COVID-19 and remote learning affect UW-Madison students. During the 2018-19 fiscal year, before the pandemic, Mental Health Services at University Health Services saw 6,644 unique patients, marking a fourteen-percent increase in client visits over the previous year, according to a UHS report. Meanwhile, the pandemic continues to nationally exacerbate issues relating to mental health and the university has sought to support students through events and messaging but many are still grappling. First-year student Peyton Zibell — like many students as of late — is struggling with her mental health. “Learning how to transition to online school has been a huge challenge,” said Zibell. “I feel like because we’re all online it’s really hard for me to have the motivation to go and get the help I need.” Campbell Stowell, another firstyear student, reiterated these worries. “My depression and anxiety are at their peak,” said Stowell, describing how the simplest of tasks such as attending a virtual class or finding a Zoom link feel “overwhelming most days.”
“I am constantly stressed with the lack of breaks and navigating online school,” Stowell said. “I am more worried about my mental health than getting COVID-19.” An MHS counselor at UHS — who Stowell said is “very supportive” — has helped her find a therapist in the Madison area; yet, Stowellremains frustrated with UW’s decision to provide only a few wellness days, one of which was Saturday, March 27 while the others are Friday, April 2 and Saturday, April 3, in place of a Spring Break. The breaks all take place on Fridays or Saturdays, days that many students do not have class. “Quite frankly, I think that the one day is a joke and that [the university] is putting in the least amount of effort to pretend that they care about the student body,” said Stowell, referencing the UW Faculty Senate’s decision. UHS Mental Health Services director to students: “I care” Director of Mental Health Services at UHS Dr. Sarah Nolan maintains that the university and UHS are committed to ensuring that students have access to mental health care. Emphasizing that as students struggle with the circumstances of COVID-19, online schooling and cope with global events such as the Atlanta shooting targeting
Asian Americans earlier this month, Nolan stated that MHS’s ultimate goal is to support students and their mental health. “If [students] have experiences that prevent them from seeking our services, I want to know about it,” said Nolan. “I want students to feel like there is something at MHS and UHS that can help them through this time.” Last fall, according to Nolan, MHS experienced a drop in student usage but has since “bounced back” to pre-pandemic levels, said Nolan, also mentioning that there has not been an increase in demand for mental health services at UW-Madison when compared to pre-COVID times. “I don’t think that means that people aren’t having a harder time,” pointed out Nolan, noting that she is unsure why MHS is not seeing “a major jump” in students seeking services. “As we look forward, we are very mindful of the fact that, historically, mental health on college campuses has continued to need more and more support,” Nolan said, highlighting that more students may seek services in the coming months. “So, that’s definitely going to be the case moving forward.” Yet, students are only offered ten individual/couples counseling sessions in a twelve-month period.
Other MHS services do not have specific usage limits. Although MHS cannot see people face to face due to the pandemic, Nolan stresses the importance of access to mental health services — underscoring that there are always ways in which to rethink and increase accessibility. A second-year student, who asked to be left anonymous, has struggled with securing an appointment at MHS. They had a consultation call — for an appointment established to determine what type of services a patient needs — last week and heard back about setting up a counseling appointment but was unable to attend and has not heard from UHS since. According to this student, available appointments with an actual therapist are “very limited” and that the open appointments are not until the end of the semester which is not “helpful to students struggling now.” Nolan upholds that MHS is actively seeking to accommodate students seeking mental health services. Every morning, MHS staff members — including Nolan — look to see how many appointments are available over the next couple of weeks and assess whether or not they need to add more slots, said Nolan. “We are always shifting things and reallocating things to make sure
that we have appointments available,” asserted Nolan. “But I do think that students are busy — especially UW-Madison students — so sometimes I think it is hard for students’ schedules to align with the appointments that we have available.” “I do think students feel there is nothing available and that’s obviously a problem,” continued Nolan. “Even if we do have appointments available, I think we always need to be offering more appointments … that is certainly on my mind.” Virtual services at UHS range from individual, group and couples counseling to behavioral health appointments, Let’s Talk consultations and processing spaces, said Nolan. UHS also checks in with students that have tested positive for COVID-19 or that have been in contact with someone who has tested positive, offering them chances to call MHS for support while in quarantine or isolation. “People are very isolated and I think there is a lot of anxiety in the world about the unpredictability of what is happening with the pandemic,” Nolan said. “And for college students, there is a lot of fear around the implications for their futures.” According to Nolan, symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, grief
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“…the great state University of Wisconsin should ever encourage that continual and fearless sifting and winnowing by which alone the truth can be found.”