MADISON – University of Wisconsin athletic director Shawn Eichorst has officially been on the job for less than a week, but he clearly has won over men’s basketball coach Greg Gard.
“I couldn’t be more excited and more happy,” Gard said. “You know you got a guy that’s really got your back and understands what this is all about and wants to attack it head on. So I’m fired up. … Everybody’s through the roof on having him here, and Badger Nation should be, too, because he’s freaking good.”
Gard heaped the high praise for his new boss as he talked with reporters after the Badgers’ July 14 practice. Eichorst’s first official day on the job was July 13 although he had been quite active since the July 1 announcement of his hire.
“He’s been at donor events for us,” Gard said. “He’s been here at practice. He’s met with a ton of people. He’s just attacked at full-steam ahead, which has been a breath of fresh air, and immediately from Day 1, put wind in our sails.”
Eichorst visited a recent men’s basketball practice along with interim chancellor Eric Wilcots, and part of his message was that he is “so darn excited to be here” and wants to get to know the players. His visit seemed to leave a positive impression on Gard’s players.
“He came and introduced himself,” sophomore guard Zach Kinziger said. “Saw him around a couple other times already, talked to him personally. So I think that’s huge for the players just to kind of have that relationship with him. … It’s a good start for sure.”
Eichorst and Gard – natives of southwestern Wisconsin villages Lone Rock and Cobb, respectively, and alumni of in-state Division III schools – already have plenty of shared history. Eichorst’s duties when he worked under Barry Alvarez from 2006-11 included oversight of the Bo Ryan-led men’s basketball program.
Ryan and Gard also gave Eichorst an assist as he was leaving for the University of Miami and thinking about the direction to take with the Hurricanes’ men’s basketball coaching vacancy. Their choice, Jim Larranaga, eventually became the Hurricanes’ all-time winningest coach.
“I still have a lot of the same notes that we hammered out over at the Main Depot over a beer and a burger, so I have great admiration for [Gard],” Eichorst said. “I’ve loved watching him grow. I think you all have. He’s a great ball coach.”
After stints as athletic director at Miami from 2011-12 and Nebraska from 2012-17 – and football results that were not to Nebraska fans’ liking – Eichorst spent eight years as the deputy athletic director and chief operating officer at Texas.
The Longhorns reached the College Football Playoff semifinals twice and won five Learfield Directors’ Cup titles during his tenure. Those career stops in his 15 years since last residing in Madison gave him experience as either an AD or deputy AD in all four power conferences.
“It was a home run hire,” Gard said. “I thought it was exactly who we needed at this point in time – the experience he has, the places he’s been, what he’s been exposed to, what he’s seen, what he’s had success with and the fact that he’s been here.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin AD Shawn Eichorst is ‘breath of fresh air,’ Greg Gard says
Reporting by John Steppe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By John Steppe, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel | USA TODAY Network
