The Wisconsin Badgers football team began their off-season shuffle early this year when tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator Rob Ianello left the confines of Madison to take a position as the wide receivers coach on Charlie Weis’ new Notre Dame staff. The move will also affect the women’s basketball squad where Ianello’s wife, Denise, is in her second year as an assistant coach and co-recruiting coordinator.

The latter Ianello will continue to fulfill her responsibilities with the women’s basketball team through the remainder of the season before departing for South Bend, Ind.

“Denise is a great coach and is somebody that we’ll miss, but we respect her and her family’s decision,” head women’s basketball coach Lisa Stone said. “She’s going to be a mom, and I respect her for that a great deal. And I congratulate Rob. It’s a wonderful opportunity for Rob Ianello, and I’m happy for him in his career.”

Rob joined head football coach Barry Alvarez’s squad for the second time two years ago, when he accepted the tight ends coach and recruiting coordinator position. Prior to his time with the Badgers, Ianello held similar positions, as the recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach, with the Arizona Wildcats from 1994-2002.

Rob was also a member of the Badgers coaching staff from 1990-93, serving as the on-campus recruiting coordinator (1990-91) and recruiting coordinator (1992-93). He was an integral component of the recruiting team that laid the foundation for the Badgers’ 1994 Rose Bowl-winning squad.

Rob was made unavailable for comment until Weis completes his staff at Notre Dame.

While the football season was over by the time of Rob’s decision, Denise was left with the difficult task of announcing her departure to her team midway through the season.

“I think initially, it was one of those things the girls weren’t expecting,” Ianello said. “It was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do. To actually look our girls in the eye and tell them that a family decision has been made.”

Ianello’s departure also comes on the heels of the signing of her first recruiting class at Madison. Ianello helped bring in six freshmen this season, including starters Jolene Anderson and Janese Banks, a class that Denise has developed a close relationship with.

“I think, personally, I’m just going to miss her because she was a mother figure to me,” Banks said. “I’m just going to miss her presence every day. Even though she’s on me constantly 24/7, she’s always in my ear. But I know she loves me, and I know she does it for a good reason. I’m really going to miss her.”

Ianello acknowledges the difficulty of leaving a group of players that have become accustomed to her guidance and support, but she points out that she will not take on any coaching duties at Notre Dame, leaving her with ample time to visit her former players and attend UW games while residing in South Bend.

“I am a phone call away, and a relatively short drive away,” Ianello said. “Like I told them, it’s not like I have anything better to do. I told them to star the games on next year’s schedule that they would like me to attend, and my son and I will be there.”

Ianello does have a connection to current Notre Dame assistant coach Carol Owens, with whom she played at the University of Northern Illinois in the late 1980s and early ’90s. But while Denise has managed to find coaching jobs at her husband’s two previous stops, she has chosen to remain out of the coaching ranks when she relocates to South Bend. Ianello has instead chosen to focus on motherhood.

“It all happened so quick, and it’s funny when decisions confront you how you take a step back from what you are doing in your everyday life and look ahead to the future,” Ianello said. “You make decisions for your future at times, and obviously there is no guarantee.”

“From that point on just be a mom and be a big part of their upbringing and be a big part of their soccer games, and their basketball and their football games or whatever they decide to do,” she continued. “But I don’t want to miss out on that. It’s really important to me as a mom.”

Denise joined the coaching ranks of the women’s basketball squad two years ago. Denise, or “DDI,” as she is known to her players, spent 11 seasons as an assistant with the Arizona Wildcats before returning to the Midwest two years ago.

Much like her husband, recruiting is Denise’s forte. She helped put together a string of five straight top-20 recruiting classes at UA, as well as bring the Wildcats back to national prominence. Denise was also named one of the nation’s top-10 assistants by Women’s Basketball Journal in two consecutive years, including a fifth-place ranking in 2002-03.

But what Ianello is most proud of is the relationship she shares with her players.

“I said this before, and I really do mean this, when I tell those kids I love them,” Ianello said. “I really do.”