Have Wisconsin Fans Turned On Luke Fickell? New Poll Shows Clear Answer

Wisconsin fans have a lot of faith in Luke Fickell to get the job done with the Badgers.

Fickell had a rough run in his first year in Madison. Despite having a pretty easy schedule and tons of hope, the Badgers went a very disappointing 7-6 in his first season with the program.

The offense never really clicked, and it was clear the culture shift was going to take a significant amount of time.

Fans aren't sweating it. There's still plenty of optimism around the state of the program.

Wisconsin fans still believe in Luke Fickell.

The Athletic recently polled Wisconsin fans, and there were some key takeaways:

• 66.9% of fans believe the state of the program is excellent or good.
• 89.4% of fans believe the program is "moving in the right direction" ahead of year two starting.
• 77.3% of fans believe AD Chris McIntosh is doing a good or excellent job.
• 50.3% of fans would define a successful season as simply having a better record than 2023.

The results don't really surprise me at all. The only data point that is a bit strange is the fact a narrow majority of fans simply want a better record than the 7-6 record the team put together in 2023. Raise your expectations, Wisconsin fans. Simply having a better record than a bad year isn't good enough.

Expect better. Expect much better.

As for Luke Fickell, I think I speak for a lot of Wisconsin fans when I say Fickell has the complete confidence and support of fans.

Yes, year one in Madison was disappointing. However, that doesn't mean that year two won't show significant signs of improvement. Fickell had his work cut out for him when he took the job. The Badgers needed a huge culture rebuild, and the offense needed to be brought into the 21st century.

I told fans it would take some time. There wouldn't be an overnight fix, and there clearly wasn't. It's going to take some significant time, and year two might not even yield the results people want. Give it time. Just give it time.

Fickell is the man for the job, and anyone who says otherwise likely has no idea what they're talking about.

Will Luke Fickell have a successful season with the Badgers this year? (Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images)

An early season matchup against Alabama will be a solid measuring stick of what Wisconsin can bring to bear this season. I'll be there in Madison rallying the troops, and I couldn't be more excited. Are you a Wisconsin fan? Let me know what your thoughts are at David.Hookstead@outkick.com.