UW athletic director Pat Richter, the longest tenured athletic director in the Big Ten conference, announced his retirement at a press conference Friday afternoon, effective April 2004.

Head football coach Barry Alvarez, who was named associate athletic director in 2000, will assume Richter’s role when he officially steps down next spring and will also remain Wisconsin’s football coach.

The announcement from Richter, 61, came as no surprise to those within the UW organization; he has hinted about his possible retirement throughout the last year.

“It was a personal timetable,” Richter said Friday. “For me, this is the time. I feel great, health-wise. Just a lot of other things to do.”

Richter earned nine varsity letters (in football, basketball and baseball) while attending the University of Wisconsin from 1961-64 and was a three-time All-American. He played wide receiver for the Washington Redskins before returning to Madison where he worked 18 years in the human resources department of Oscar Mayer.

After being heavily pursued by former UW chancellor Donna Shalala, Richter was hired as athletic director Dec. 15, 1989.

Richter inherited a department in complete shambles and an athletic program facing a $2.1 million deficit. Among Richter’s first decisions after assuming the role of athletic director was the hiring of then-Notre Dame assistant Alvarez to be Wisconsin’s head football coach.

The success of Alvarez’ program throughout the 1990s played a large role in revitalizing enthusiasm in UW sports programs.

Throughout his 14-year tenure at Wisconsin, Richter has been one of the more influential athletic directors in the nation.

He has turned that $2.1 million deficit into a $6.4 million reserve, and he was an instrumental catalyst in generating support and funding for UW facilities such as the Kohl Center, University Ridge golf course and renovations to Camp Randall.

Since Richter’s hiring, UW athletic teams have produced three national championships and 49 Big Ten titles. The Wisconsin athletic program has also manufactured more academic all-Big Ten honorees than any other school in the conference under Richter’s watch.

“The challenges have been many, but we’ve attacked them with a sense of purpose and integrity,” Richter said. “So many individuals, both internal and external to the department, have been instrumental in our success. I’m focused on continued growth, especially in the area of revenue generation during these difficult economic times.”

Richter’s department was ranked 10th best in the nation in a Sporting News survey in 2001.

For Alvarez, 56, the opportunity to assume the dual role of athletic director and head football coach is a challenge worth accepting.

“The chance to run a large organization has always intrigued me,” Alvarez said. “That is the reason I wanted the involvement with our management team several years ago. It’s helped me get a sense of the intricate workings of this 23-sport program.”

Although not unprecedented, the combination of head coach and athletic director is one very few programs have experimented with.

Current Arizona head coach John Makovic assumed the dual role while coaching at Illinois, and UNLV head coach John Robinson is presently serving as the school’s athletic director as well.

Despite the extremely large time commitment each position demands, Alvarez assures the continued progress of both the football team as well as every other UW program.

“I am going to run the department like I run the football team,” Alvarez said on Friday. “I’m going to continue to help the growth of the athletic department, not just the football program. But I cannot let the football program slide.”

In response to some critics’ concern about a lack of checks and balances within the football program, UW chancellor John Wiley stated that Alvarez would report to him and that the chancellor’s office would always be on top of what’s going on with the football team.

Maintaining a sound financial base for the department in shaky economic times, improving the student-athlete graduation rate and maximizing student potential on and off the field are just a handful of Alvarez’s early goals for his administration.

Both Richter and Wiley have expressed enthusiasm and confidence in Alvarez, who will receive no additional compensation for taking on his new duty. Both say they believe that Alvarez’s 14-year experience at Wisconsin has conditioned him to understand the needs of the entire department.

While Alvarez will not fully assume the position of athletic director until next April, the torch of the UW athletic program is beginning its dissent from a proven UW legend to an icon in the making.

“The challenges of running an athletic department today are certainly very real,” Alvarez, who will be the university’s 10th athletic director, said. “I am, however, extremely excited and committed to building upon the foundation that Pat will leave behind. The timing of this announcement is beneficial as I will have a season to work with Pat as we transition into the future.”