By Rock Westfall
Before Barry Alvarez ‘s arrival in 1990, the Wisconsin Badgers were struggling, often being compared to the Kansas State Wildcats as the worst program in college football.
Alvarez, who had a successful stint as the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame, including a key role in their 1988 national championship, had a formative experience playing for the legendary Bob Devaney at the University of Nebraska . Devaney was in the early stages of building a national powerhouse that would last for four decades while winning five national championships. Alvarez’s time at Nebraska, under Devaney’s tutelage, would significantly shape his coaching philosophy.
Devaney inherited a miserable Nebraska program upon taking over in 1962. But Devaney quickly turned the Cornhuskers around with a culture based on a farm-state work ethic, toughness, resilience, targeted and effective recruiting, a strong walk-on program, and an emphasis on interior line play.
Alvarez studied Devaney’s program and never forgot the lessons. And when he took over at Wisconsin he applied what he learned from Nebraska and Devaney. By 1993, Alvarez led Wisconsin to a Rose Bowl championship and forged a consistent Big Ten contender for the next three decades using his Nebraska DNA.