Luke Fickell Bluntly Sets Expectations For Wisconsin Fans, But Is He Trying To Dial Down The Hype?

Luke Fickell has one goal on his mind when it comes to leading the Wisconsin Badgers.

Win a national title.

Fickell was hired after Paul Chryst was shown the exit following a 2-3 start, and Fickell faces monster expectations.

Fans expect immediate success for many reasons. The big ones are a re-tooled QB room featuring Tanner Mordecai, Phil Longo and Fickell overhauling an outdated offense and a weak schedule.

Well, Luke Fickell isn't running from the fact people want a national title.

Wisconsin football coach Luke Fickell is focused on winning a national title. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Luke Fickell's top goal is bringing a national title to Madison.

"We have one objective, and that's to play for a championship. I don't think that will ever change whether it's year one, year two, three, four or five," the Badgers head coach told the press during Big Ten Media Days. He also pointed to consistency and to playing your best football at the end of the season as a good indication things are going well.

However, the man now in charge in Madison made it crystal clear nobody outside the building will set expectations. That includes media and fans.

"I'll tell our guys as we start camp here next week, that nobody outside our team, nobody outside the walls that which the guys that are there every single day, that have everything invested will define what success looks like for us. We cannot allow that. We can't allow fans, can't allow students, we can't allow former players, we can't allow the media to define what success looks like within our program," Fickell explained.

Fickell faces unbelievably high expectations in Madison.

While Luke Fickell can set the tone in the locker room and define success for members of the program, the reality is he's now in the Big Ten.

This is the big leagues. The ammo at this level is hot and it comes flying at high speeds. You either succeed or you get fired.

Just ask Paul Chryst. He won 72% of his games, and was shown the door after it became clear the team had become stagnant. Chryst went 9-4 in 2021. Still not good enough to save his job after a 2-3 start.

Will Luke Fickell be successful with the Wisconsin Badgers? (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

Fickell is now the man in charge of the Wisconsin Badgers, and with a weak schedule, fans are salivating at the idea of 10 wins in year one.

Outside of the Ohio State game, Wisconsin should be favored in every matchup. Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers couldn't have asked for a better slate to start a new era.

Is Luke Fickell attempting to manage expectations for fans?

Having said all of that, I can't help but wonder if his line about defining success was Fickell's subtle way of trying to dial back expectations.

Wisconsin is 20-13 over the past three seasons. That's abysmal for a program that had grown accustomed to double digit win seasons.

Everyone in the state expects Fickell to be a huge success. It's all anyone is talking about, but will it happen in year one? Will things immediately turn around? That's unknown and Fickell talking about how nobody else will set expectations did kind of seem like his way of curbing expectations.

Luke Fickell was hired to save the Wisconsin football program. (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

Either way, week one is against Buffalo, and fans in Madison are ready to party for the start of the Luke Fickell era. Championships or bust. Wouldn't have it any other way.