Wisconsin is targeting Shawn Eichorst for its athletic director vacancy. The move would put a former Wisconsin deputy athletic director back in charge of a department facing pressure around Luke Fickell’s football program.
Shawn Eichorst and Wisconsin
Pete Thamel reported that Wisconsin is targeting former Nebraska and Miami athletic director Shawn Eichorst for the job. Eichorst is a Lone Rock native and a UW-Whitewater alum, and he previously worked at Wisconsin as a deputy athletic director under Barry Alvarez.
His résumé reaches well beyond Madison. Eichorst served as athletic director at Miami from 2011 to 2012 and at Nebraska from 2012 to 2017, then joined Texas’ athletic department in 2018 as deputy athletic director and chief operating officer.
Marcus Sedberry’s role
Marcus Sedberry had been serving as interim athletic director and previously was one of Wisconsin’s deputy athletic directors and the football general manager. In an April media availability, he did not indicate whether he planned to seek the permanent position, leaving the search office with a vacancy to fill rather than an internal succession already in motion.
Lauren Bishop chaired the hiring committee, which also included Chris Ballard, Meghan Duggan, Michael Finley and other Wisconsin alumni. Wisconsin also used CSA Search and Consulting in the search, and a public records request submitted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in May for the contract with the search firm remains pending.
What Eichorst inherits
The timing matters because Eichorst would take over an athletic department with real football pressure attached to the hire. The Luke Fickell-led program is coming off back-to-back losing seasons, and the department is also trying to stem growing fan apathy.
There is friction in the search, too. It is unclear who the other finalists were for the Wisconsin job, while WildcatAuthority reported that Desiree Reed-Francois was a finalist and she denied having interest in a statement to the Arizona Daily Star. Wisconsin has a target now, but the final hire still determines whether this search becomes a return for Eichorst or only a reported preference.
