Two weeks after University of Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh said his former position of deputy AD would go unfilled for now, the UW posted a job opening bearing that title.
McIntosh was hired as deputy athletic director in 2017, and was promoted to replace the retiring Barry Alvarez as athletic director this past July.
As reported by the Wisconsin State Journal, it's unclear what changed between Sept. 10, when McIntosh told the UW Athletic Board that there was no immediate plan to add to the department's senior staff, and the Sept. 24 job posting. UW athletics officials didn't respond to messages asking about the shift.
The deputy AD position that the Badgers are trying to fill was advertised as overseeing policy development, personnel, budget planning and staff development. Specific roles in leading brand marketing and legal affairs are part of the job, according to the posting. Applications are being accepted until Oct. 15.
McIntosh has eight associate athletic directors. As recently as the 2019-20 academic year, Alvarez counted 11 members among his senior staff.
McIntosh, a former football player under Alvarez when the latter served as Wisconsin's head coach, left the door open for staff expansion during his first Athletic Board meeting as athletic director Sept. 10, when he was asked whether the deputy position was being filled.
"We're moving forward for the time being with the leadership staff we have in place," he said at the time. "Over time we'll make modifications, but at the moment it'll be left unfilled."
