BY MIKE LUCAS
UWBadgers.com Senior Writer
MADISON, Wis. — A painted brick with the inscription "Every man a brick — Together a wall" serves as a doorstop in
Chris McIntosh's office. His door is usually open.
That was the case when he welcomed a visitor, smiling while addressing his readiness to take over as Wisconsin's Director of Athletics.
Upon learning that chancellor Rebecca Blank had chosen him for the position from the search committee's list of three finalists, McIntosh admitted to experiencing a range of emotion.
"I was ecstatic, I was humbled," he said. "It was exhilarating and emotional at the same time. The first person I was able to talk to was Deann (his wife) …"
Both agreed on the promotion being an opportunity of a lifetime. "It just felt right," Chris said.
Seated now in his fifth-floor office, one door down from Barry Alvarez, who's retiring at the end of June, McIntosh kept coming back to what he has gleaned from the 74-year-old Alvarez.
As an administrator, he qualified his learning curve with some context, "It's interesting when you watch people in that position and the decisions that are made during times that can be stressful."
McIntosh, 44, has been the deputy athletic director since July of 2017, which has given him a keen perspective on the day-to-day operations of the department. Especially during the pandemic.
"The one thing that has always stood out — and I've admired about Barry — is that every decision starts at the same starting point,"' said McIntosh, a consensus All-American tackle for Alvarez.
"What's best for our student-athletes? Is this good for our student-athletes? Is this an opportunity for our student-athletes? Is this something we should pursue for our student-athletes?
"If that's the first point in a decision-making process, I think that's the right place to be. As complicated and convoluted as some things tend to get …
"If the compass is always pointed at that — 'What's best for our student-athletes?' — it will serve me well and I'll be able to sleep well at night if that's where the starting point is."
McIntosh is well aware of the long shadow that has been cast by his predecessor. Every day he comes to work at 1440 Monroe Street, he walks past the Alvarez statue outside Camp Randall Stadium.
"He's got to be himself," insisted Alvarez, a Hall of Fame coach and the AD for the last 18 years. "And I think he's done a good job of that. He has gained his own respect here.
"I'm my own person. I do things my way. He's got to do them his way and people will recognize that. He doesn't have to emulate anything I did.
"He knows how to run a good department. He's inheriting a good department. My vision for him is to continue to improve it."
The inevitable suggestion will be that McIntosh is not Alvarez, to which McIntosh agreed.
"That's true. That's right. I'm not going to try to be, either. I'm Mac," he said. "It's a losing proposition to try and compare oneself in general — much less compare oneself to someone like Barry.
"I'm looking to be the best me I can be in this job and to pour myself into it and to make the best decisions that I can. I'm sure I'll make mistakes and if I do, I'll own them."
During the school's interviewing process to name a replacement, McIntosh revealed, "My approach to this process was that of the underdog. I didn't take anything for granted."
Later, he said of the chain of command that has been in place, "I think I have a great relationship with the chancellor. I'm excited to work with her in a different capacity now. I feel like over the last 15 months or so, we — Barry and the chancellor and I — have been kind of shoulder to shoulder as we were trying to find our way through these challenges.
"That was a really valuable experience. That was a good example of a united front trying to do what's best in uncertain times. I'm excited what the future could hold there."
In the end, there was self-evaluation and McIntosh conceded, "I enjoyed the process because it forced me to articulate my vision for where I think we can go, and that was helpful."
What is that vision? Where will that lead?
"Emerging from all of the challenges of the last year and one-half, I think we are at as strong of a position as we could possibly be right now," he asserted. "And this is a credit to Barry. I'm grateful to him for having stayed here longer than he has originally planned on to help see us through that (Alvarez pushed back his retirement date).
"And now we're positioned in anticipation of a changing world that we don't exactly know what it's going to look like right now. But there could be tremendous opportunities for our student-athletes in this changing world, in this new world of college athletics.
"There are things we can do to provide more meaningful opportunities to our student-athletes during their time here and after … and all along compete for championships."
Success has always been a strong message to Badger fans. McIntosh amplified that point.
"To our fans, first and foremost, it's a message of gratitude for all the support that they've given us to allow us to be in this position today," he said. "There's also gratitude for the outpouring of support that I've received all along the way. It was overwhelming and it took me back at points.
"The promise is that we'll do everything we can to reach our fullest potential here and we'll do it the right way. We will not compromise and cut corners. We'll give them something to be proud of."
McIntosh's management style will obviously come under more scrutiny than it did as a deputy AD when he toiled in relative obscurity. But his decision-making has been consistent at every level.
"I try to be authentic," said the Pewaukee, Wisconsin, native. "When people spend time with me, they know what they get with me. I take pride in that.
"I try to be empathetic. I try to understand the position of the person that I'm talking to and where they're coming from and what's going on with them. I'd like to think that I take a lot of pride in hiring talented people and working with talented people and allowing them to do their work.
"We've been very fortunate here in that we've got people who understand our culture and they're really good at getting the job done."
The athletic director's assignment, for one, is more fluid than ever.
"There are a lot of questions out there about the future of college athletics," Alvarez confirmed. "There's going to be change. And you can't be afraid to change.
"Adapt to what's coming down the pike. We don't know yet. So, you're going to have to be nimble and be able to move and make decisions so you can continue to be successful."
Alvarez is confident that McIntosh will be able to handle expectations and execute the appropriate plan. McIntosh is confident, too, about the future based in part to his past.
"I'm excited for this," he reiterated. "This program had such a profound impact on my own life, just changed the trajectory of my life. It gave me an opportunity to get an education from a world-class university like this. It gave me a chance to play on the biggest of stages in my sport.
"It gave me a chance to make lifelong friendships with a group of guys from all over the country in the locker room.
"I'm passionate about making sure that as many young people as can be … can have the same kind of experience … and I'm passionate about making it a better experience for them.
"It's analogous to what my journey was as a player. I arrived here and I learned. And I just kind of kept my head down and I went about my work, and I tried to learn as much as I could. And then, at some point for me, I realized that this is the place where I want to be. This is the industry and the kind of work that I want to do.
"I've always enjoyed my work," he said looking out his window at the Camp Randall playing surface. "I've never done something that I wasn't passionate about. But there's a difference here.
"The connection to the work we do and the impact that it has on the lives of people, generational impact, that's like nothing I've ever done. It's an opportunity hard to create elsewhere."
But he's not speeding up the clock. On the contrary. McIntosh wants to make sure Alvarez's retirement timeline is observed with the proper respect that his mentor has earned.
"When Barry is finished and it's my turn — and it's clear that is a month from now, not now," he said, "my priority until then is to make sure this month is gone about in the way it needs to.
"When that transition does take place, and it's clear that it will be different, I'd like to think it will be exciting and we can pour ourselves, like we have, into trying to make this a better place.
"It's going to come with its own set of challenges and those will come in many forms that I'm sure that are probably impossible to anticipate today. There are significant challenges and levels of uncertainty in college athletics right now, not to mention in our own society and community.
"Those are challenges I look forward to meeting head-on and trying to be part of the solution."
Peering out his office window again at the panoramic view, McIntosh was asked how many times does he visualize people filling all of those seats this fall in Camp Randall?
"Every day," he said without hesitation. "Last year was tough. I felt really sad for our student-athletes, our players, in all of our venues. I felt sorry for the ones who hadn't experienced a Camp Randall or a Kohl Center that was rocking. In some sense, I felt worse for the kids who had and knew what they were missing.
"One of the things that I'm most excited about as we head into summer is that conditions seem to be improving. I'm hopeful Camp Randall this fall is like we hope it to be."
As a student-athlete and a trusted member of the senior staff, McIntosh has been one of those bricks in the Wisconsin foundation. He has learned much about himself. And this place.
Every man a brick … Together a wall.
"Focus on what you can control," he said of the life lessons taught. "There's a lot of anxiety that can be applied to things outside of one's control. That's not going to serve me in this role."
Instead, he will focus on "the hard work and the dedication and the commitment to this place. That's why this opportunity makes me so excited to pour myself into it."
So, what is more daunting? Becoming a college director of athletics in what looms as a brave new world or climbing Mount McKinley, the highest mountain peak in North America?
"It's a different kind of daunting," said McIntosh, who has scaled Denali, Mount Rainier and Mount Orizaba. "It's a different kind of exciting, too. It's more exciting than daunting."
And he couldn't stop smiling. It just feels right.
