Speaking Thursday morning to a meeting of downtown business leaders, UW-Madison interim athletic director Marcus Sedberry said he anticipates the new director will be named before the Badgers football season begins in September.

“My estimation is before football season, there will be some type of announcement of who the next athletic director will be,” Sedberry said at a Downtown Madison Inc. breakfast event held at the Edgewater Hotel.

For the first time in more than 35 years, UW-Madison is conducting a wide open search for its next athletic director with no clear frontrunner or associate director viewed as the successor to Chris McIntosh, who stepped down from the post in April. Sedberry said that process is led by Eric Wilcots, the UW-Madison interim chancellor.

Earlier this week, the university officially listed the job opening and launched a special website dedicated to outlining the expectations and qualifications for the role. In addition to bringing on CSA Search & Consulting to help with the recruiting process, the university has assembled a search committee that features several former athletes. That group includes no athletics administrators hired by McIntosh or Barry Alvarez, the legendary football coach who served as director from 2004 until he turned over the keys to McIntosh in 2021.

Sedberry was elevated to the interim role after serving since 2025 as the Wisconsin football team’s general manager, a role traditionally confined to professional sports but increasingly important in college programs. Prior to that role, he was the deputy athletic director and the department’s chief operating officer. He has worked for the University of Arkansas, Baylor University and the Philadelphia Eagles of the NFL.

In response to a question from DMI president Jason Ilstrup, Sedberry addressed the most pressing issue for the department: the quality of the football program. After hiring head coach Luke Fickell in 2022, the Badgers’ record is 17-21, including 4-8 in 2025.

“The team you're going to see on Saturdays this upcoming year will be the most talented and the deepest team that we've had, at least in the four years I've been here,” Sedberry said. “I can't tell you how many wins we're going to have, because there's way more to it than that, but you will be able to see with your eyes. This is a different football team.”

The rules of college athletics are changing dramatically with wide-open transfer policies and the ability for athletes to earn, in some cases, millions of dollars in name, image and likeness (NIL) sponsorships. Sedberry echoed a message McIntosh delivered frequently, that while the UW-Madison athletic department is accomplishing many of its goals, even as the football team has struggled in recent years, significant financial investments are required to remain competitive.

“All of the athletic programs that are in the top 10 and that are going to be competing for top 15, they're all doing these things to help strengthen their stronghold on the market, and we can't afford to not be a part of that,” he said.

Among the metrics Sedberry highlighted:

• Wisconsin is ranked 12th among Division I college athletic departments when measuring performance across all sports.
• College sporting events attract more than 2 million visitors to Madison each year.
• The overall economic impact of UW-Madison athletics on the state is $977.2 million.
• 94% of student athletes at Wisconsin graduate.

Sedberry’s appeal to Downtown Madison Inc. members was clear: The Badgers bring a lot of business and money to town and it’s important to financially support the athletic department as it works to meet the challenges of this new era.

“For those in the room who don't know what I'm talking about or maybe have said, ‘I just don't want to touch that right now,’ just know that when we talk about the success we are having as a city, as a downtown, as a university, it's all tied to this,” Sedberry said. “And we need everybody to be willing to be on board with those things.

“The reality is, we have to continue to find partners to help us get there. So when we call, answer the phone, please.”