Wisconsin’s decision to bring Shawn Eichorst back into the Big Ten has given Iowa fans a familiar name to latch onto, and it comes with a lot of history attached.
Eichorst is returning to the conference as Wisconsin’s new athletic director after serving as the deputy AD at Texas since 2018. The move puts him back in the league where he became a lightning rod at Nebraska, and Hawkeye fans haven’t forgotten the line that followed him around for years: “In the final analysis, I had to evaluate where Iowa was.”
That quote came after Nebraska’s 37-34 overtime win over Iowa, when Eichorst was explaining the decision to fire Bo Pelini after the 2014 season and replace him with Mike Riley. Pelini had gone 67-27 overall in seven full seasons, plus one game as interim coach, while Riley was later dismissed in 2017 after going 19-19 in three seasons, including a 4-7 finish that year.
The Pelini move defined Eichorst’s Nebraska tenure, and the results that followed only made the quote stick harder. After he said it, Nebraska lost 10 of its next 11 games against Iowa, including a 40-16 loss in Lincoln last season. Now Eichorst is back in the Big Ten, and Iowa supporters are already treating it like a good omen.
That backdrop matters even more with next season set to bring the 100th all-time football meeting between Iowa and Wisconsin. The Badgers hold a narrow edge in the series at 49-48-2, though Iowa has won four of the last five. Wisconsin has taken six of the last 10, but the Hawkeyes will have a chance to tie the series at 49 wins in the milestone matchup.
There’s also fresh memory on Iowa’s side from last season, when the Hawkeyes rolled past Wisconsin 37-0. With Eichorst now running the show in Madison, Iowa fans are hoping that old Nebraska baggage follows him again.
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