As the Wisconsin football program heads into their second season under coach Luke Fickell, a historic promotion should help the program grow into the future.
According to the latest report, the Badgers are promoting 24-year-old Max Stienecker from player personnel director to general manager of the football team, per On3 Sports. He's set to become the youngest GM in the Power 4 conferences.
Stienecker could very well be the youngest GM ever at the collegiate level, as CBS Sports' Matt Zenitz noted. The rise has been a rapid one for the 2021 graduate of the University of Cincinnati, who followed Fickell to Madison following the 2022 season
Wisconsin football moves forward with Fickell and Stienecker leading way
A 7-6 record capped off with a ReliaQuest Bowl game loss against LSU on New Year's Day, Fickell and his staff had a lot to work on coming into year two. Promoting Stienecker was at least partially a reward for the young staffer's hard work on the recruiting trail as player personnel director. As many college football fans know, recruiting is one of, if not the toughest, part of any collegiate staff member's job.
Stienecker was a key part of the Badgers' recruiting success in both the high school and transfer portal rankings. Four-star linebacker Mason Posa leads a top 25 recruiting class, while Miami (FL) quarterback Tyler Van Dyke and USC linebacker Tackett Curtis were among those added via transfer.
Badgers look to push forward in new look Big Ten
A tough schedule lies ahead of Luke Fickell and Max Stienecker's program, as the Badgers face an early season test in their home field at Camp Randall with perennial SEC (and College Football Playoff) title contender Alabama. Although legendary coach Nick Saban is no longer at the helm in Tuscaloosa, new head man Kalen DeBoer took Washington, his former program, to the CFP National Championship game last year. A bye week follows that game before a visit out west to have their first ever conference meeting with USC in Los Angeles.
Wisconsin also faces new conference member Oregon and frequent Big Ten title contender Penn State (both at home), and another annual conference championship contender Iowa on the road. Even programs such as Purdue, Rutgers and Minnesota can prove to be tricky games in most circumstances, so the team needs to be prepared for anything. Good thing they have a staff in place, led by Fickell, that has a lot of experience and winning pedigree. With Stienecker now in place at general manager for hopefully a very long time, the future looks just a bit brighter for Wisconsin football.
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