Wisconsin football news and notes from Luke Fickell after spring practice No. 1
Wisconsin football opened spring practice on Thursday. Here’s what stood out from Luke Fickell’s first media availability.
The University of Wisconsin football program opened spring practice Thursday inside the McClain Center, taking the first step toward a 2026 season that feels like it carries a little more weight than the last three.
Luke Fickell enters a critical Year 4 at the helm after a 4–8 campaign and a second straight season without a bowl appearance.
This offseason, Wisconsin tapped into its newfound financial resources to retain key pieces while reshaping the roster to add improved depth through the transfer portal. There are a lot of new faces in the building, and internally, there’s a belief that this group has helped close some of the gap between where this program has been and where it needs to go.
“To me, regardless of what’s happened the last three years, it’s about starting anew,” Fickell said. “We’ve learned a lot from where we’ve been, but we’ve also learned where the gaps are that we’ve got to close.
“I’m most excited about whether we can bring this thing together. We’ve got a nucleus of leadership that has seen the struggles, and I think that’s going to shape who we are.”
That tone carried into Fickell’s first media availability of the spring, where he offered a few early insights as things get underway.
