Bret Bielema was Barry Alvarez’ hand-picked successor when he stepped down at Wisconsin following the 2005 season. Seven years later, Bielema is leaving the Badgers for the SEC’s Arkansas Razorbacks.
This is a bit of a shocker, and the biggest surprise of the college football coaching carousel season.
Bielema went 68-24 over those seven years, and led the Badgers to three straight Big Ten championships (and three Rose Bowls) behind teams that played great defense and produced a ton of 1,000-yard rushers. Multiple sources reported the move minutes ago.
According to CBS, Bielema “seemingly has no ties to Arkansas or AD Jeff Long who conducted the search.”
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