Bret Bielema

College coach infobox


Name = Bret Bielema
| Caption =
DateOfBirth = Birth date and age|1970|1|13|mf=y
Birthplace = Prophetstown, IL
DateOfDeath =
Sport = Football
College = Wisconsin
Title = Head Coach
CurrentRecord = 21-5
OverallRecord = 21-5
BowlRecord = 1-1
Awards = Big Ten Coach of the Year (2006)
Championships =
CFbDWID = 4152
Player = Y
Years = 1989-92
Team = Iowa
Position = NG
Coach = Y
CoachYears = 2006-"present"
CoachTeams = Wisconsin
FootballHOF =

Bret Bielema (pronEng|ˈbiːləmɑː [ [http://www.misspronouncer.com/ Miss Pronouncer: Hear how to pronounce; The Wisconsin pronunciation guide for cities, counties, Indians & lawmakers ] ] , b. January 13, 1970 in Prophetstown, Illinois) is currently the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers football team. On July 28, 2005, the former Badgers head coach and UW athletic director, Barry Alvarez, announced that he would step down at the end of the 2005 season and named Bielema as his successor.

Early career

Coach Bielema played college football at the University of Iowa from 1989 to 1992, where he earned four letters and a bachelor's degree in marketing. He went on to play for the Milwaukee Mustangs, a team in the Arena Football League. From his days as a football player at Iowa, he has a two-inch tattoo of a Tiger Hawk (Iowa's logo) on his calf, which he has stated he will not remove, despite being the coach of the Big Ten-rival Wisconsin Badgers. [http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=/wsj/2006/02/19/0602200555.php]

Bielema was an assistant coach at the University of Iowa from 1993 to 2001. He then moved on to become the co-defensive coordinator for Kansas State University from 2002 to 2003. Bielema then took on the same position at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2004.

Head coaching career

Rookie coaching season

Bret Bielema had a very successful first season as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers in 2006 . His team ended the regular season 11-1 (7-1 in Big Ten Conference play). With the 35-3 defeat of the University of Buffalo on November 18, 2006, Bielema became the first coach in UW history to win 11 games in the regular season. [ [http://uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/story.html?sportid=111&storyid=9729 UW Earns First-Ever 11-Win Regular Season] ] After a 17-14 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2007, Bielema became only the 100th coach in NCAA history to win 12 games in his rookie season.

Bielema has an impressive array of firsts in his coaching career. With a 14-0 victory over the San Diego State Aztecs on September 16, 2006, Bielema became the third UW head coach to win the first three games of his career. [http://uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/story.html?sportid=111&storyid=9148] Later, with a 24-3 win over the Purdue Boilermakers on October 21, 2006, Bielema tied the record (seven) for most wins by a first-year coach at UW. The other two coaches to complete this feat were Phil King in 1896 and William Juneau in 1912. [http://uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/story.html?sportid=111&storyid=9455] A 30-24 victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini on October 28, 2006, Bielema became the first coach in Wisconsin history to win eight games in his first season. [http://uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/story.html?sportid=111&storyid=9525] He then extended the record with his ninth victory on November 4, 2006, defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions 13-3. [http://uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/story.html?sportid=111&storyid=9606] With a 24-21 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 11, 2006, Bielema became the first head coach in Big Ten history to win 10 games in his first season. [http://uwbadgers.com/sport_news/fb/headlines/story.html?sportid=111&storyid=9673]

Trivia

It had been rumored that Bret Bielema had a relationship with ESPN analyst Erin Andrews but the rumor turned out to be false. [ [http://thewizardofodds.blogspot.com/2007/09/any-truth-to-andrews-bielema-rumors.html Erin Andrews and Bret Bielema] ]

Head coaching record

CFB Yearly Record Subhead
name = Wisconsin Badgers
startyear = 2006
conf = Big Ten
endyear = CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2006
name = Wisconsin
overall = 12–1
conference = 7–1
confstanding = 3rd
bowlname = Capital One
bowloutcome = W
bcsbowl =
ranking = 8
ranking2 = 8CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2007
name = Wisconsin
overall = 9–4
conference = 5–3
confstanding = T-4th
bowlname = Outback
bowloutcome = L
bcsbowl =
ranking = 21
ranking2 = 24CFB Yearly Record Entry
championship =
year = 2008
name = Wisconsin
overall = 3–2
conference = 0–2
confstanding =
bowlname =
bowloutcome =
bcsbowl =
ranking =
ranking2 = CFB Yearly Record Subtotal
name=Wisconsin
overall= 23–5
confrecord= 12–4CFB Yearly Record End
overall = 23–5
bcs =
poll = two
polltype =

References

External links

* [http://uwbadgers.com/bios/?staffid=559 Official Bio at UWBadgers.com]
* [http://www.madisonmagazine.com/article.php?section_id=918&xstate=view_story&story_id=235307 The Protégé: A Profile of Bret Bielema]