MADISON – Last winter Luke Fickell talked about having his good friend Mike Vrabel, the former Tennessee Titans head coach, come to campus to help the Wisconsin football team in some capacity during spring practice.

That didn’t work out, but Fickell has enlisted the help of a former NFL head coach.

Jack Del Rio, who was a head coach with Oakland and Jacksonville will join the UW staff as a senior advisor to the head coach. He’ll help with the offense and defense in addition to assisting Fickell. The hire was first reported by the Athletic and then confirmed by a UW spokesperson.

Del Rio spent the past four seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders.

As a head coach he spent nine seasons at Jacksonville (2003-11) where his teams went 68-71 with two playoff appearances.

He was the Raiders’ head coach from 2015-17, leading them to one playoff appearance and a 25-23 record.

Del Rio played linebacker for 11 seasons in the NFL with four teams. He made the Pro Bowl with Minnesota in 1994, his second to last season.

Low clouds remain over southern Wisconsin early Thursday. Some patchy fog is possible through sunrise. Clouds mix with sunshine Thursday afternoon as highs climb into the upper 70s and lower 80s. Humid conditions remain in place through tomorrow. Overnight lows fall towards 70-degrees.

A cold front will bring showers and storms late tonight and into tomorrow morning. Storms will be weakening as they arrive into SE Wisconsin before sunrise. Isolated thunder remains possible. Rain and storms clear the area by midday. Highs top out in the lower 80s.

Cooler and less humid air filters into Wisconsin for Labor Day weekend. Expect increasing sunshine with highs falling from the lower 80s on Saturday to the mid 70s on Sunday.
Dry conditions persist into next week. Highs gradually warm back towards 80 by next Wednesday.

THURSDAY: Partly CloudyHigh: 78 lake 80 Inland
Wind: E 5-10 mph

TONIGHT: Mostly Cloudy; Chance Showers/Isolated Thunderstorms
Low: 70
Wind: S 5-10 mph

FRIDAY: Early Rain/Storms; Mostly Cloudy & Humid
High: 82

SATURDAY: Mostly Sunny
High: 82

SUNDAY: Mostly Sunny & Cooler
High: 76

MONDAY: Mostly Sunny
High: 72

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STEVENS POINT, Wis. (WSAW) – Some Universities of Wisconsin campuses are struggling with enrollment numbers, but at UW-Stevens Point, enrollment has been going up on the main campus for the last three years.

With an increase in enrollment comes added revenue.

Universities of Wisconsin President and Wausau native Jay Rothman is asking Governor Tony Evers to approve an additional $457 million for the 2025-27 school year for Wisconsin to grow in ranking for national public funding.

Wisconsin currently ranks 43rd out of 50 states for national public funding. Rothman says he knows tuition and other college expenses are going up for students across the state.

This new budget could eliminate some of those concerns.

“Whether that be career advising, whether that be academic advising, mental health services, funding for internships and undergraduate research, all which help with retention,” Rothman said.

He says this is something the state should address sooner than later.

“This reflects at least a decade of neglect for our university system, and we think Wisconsin deserves better than that,” Rothman said. “More importantly, the citizens and the residents deserve better than that.”

If approved, this new budget wouldn’t happen until next year. However, UWSP will see a more than seven percent increase this year thanks to an influx of students.

With this new budget, they have plans for this school year and beyond.

“We’re also providing a new online option for our MBA program in decision-making and leadership,” USWP Chancellor Thomas Gibson said. “We’re equally as excited about our new Master of Social Work, which will launch next summer.”

Part of the university’s agenda is to grow beyond the state.

“We’re seeking to attract additional numbers of international students, and we partnered with a third-party vendor that’s going to support us in a number of these different markets, and that work actually begins this fall,” Gibson explained.

Another focus is leaning toward growing bachelor’s degree programs, not associate degree programs, as well as keeping students engaged in the classroom.

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