Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh to depart for inaugural role in Big Ten Conference

McIntosh, who has served as UW-Madison's athletic director for five years, will become the Big Ten's first deputy commissioner for strategy. The university has named an interim director.

The following message was sent from Chancellor Jennifer L. Mnookin to all students and employees on April 13, 2026.

Dear Campus Community,

As you may be aware, the Big Ten Conference has announced the appointment of University of Wisconsin-Madison Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh as the conference's first Deputy Commissioner for Strategy. In this role, Chris will work closely with Big Ten Commissioner Tony Petitti and the Big Ten Council of Presidents and Chancellors on the many strategic issues facing the conference. Today is his last day as UW-Madison's director of athletics.

A UW-Madison student-athlete and graduate, and athletics administrator since 2014 - including five years serving as our director of athletics - Chris has contributed much to our campus and to the broader community. Under his leadership of Wisconsin Athletics, student-athletes have excelled both athletically and academically. In addition to winning several conference and national titles, our overall student-athlete graduation success rate is 91 percent, with record highs in each of the last eight years.

While helping to establish a strong foundation for success in all sports moving forward, Chris has always represented our institution with high character, professionalism and Badger pride. We should all be pleased that he will bring this integrity and commitment to his new position as he will play an instrumental role in the future of the Big Ten Conference and thus, in the future of Wisconsin Athletics. We wish Chris and his family the very best as they begin this new chapter.

Both interim Chancellor-designate Eric Wilcots and I are grateful that Deputy Athletic Director/Chief Operating Officer Marcus Sedberry has agreed to serve as interim director of athletics effective immediately.

Marcus, who has been a part of the UW community since 2022, came to Madison with senior level experience in the SEC, Big 12 and National Football League. Since he joined us, Marcus has played an integral role in every aspect of our athletics enterprise while serving as Wisconsin Athletics' deputy athletic director/chief operating officer. Beginning in February 2025, Marcus added the responsibility of general manager of Wisconsin Athletics, playing a pivotal role in building a comprehensive player-personnel and revenue-sharing strategy. We are confident that Marcus will serve campus well as he takes on this interim role.

Given that my time as UW-Madison's chancellor is coming to a close, I have asked interim Chancellor-designate Wilcots to take the lead in determining what a search for a new director of athletics may look like and when it will occur.
Badger Athletics is a critical part of our university; it also means so much to the broader community. I am confident that our student-athletes, coaches and staff will rise to the occasion during this period of change and continue to make us all proud.