Arkansas will name Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema its new football coach, a source familiar with the hiring has told The Associated Press. Over the weekend, Bielema led the Badgers to the Big Ten Championship in a rout of Nebraska, earning Wisconsin its third straight Rose Bowl berth. Bielema will sign a multiyear contract soon, according to the person, who spoke Tuesday on condition of anonymity because the school had not yet made an official announcement. Bielema was 68-24 in seven seasons at Wisconsin, including an 8-5 mark this season. The unranked Badgers and the No. 8 Stanford Cardinal (11-2) will meet in the 99th edition of the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1. It was not immediately known if Bielema will coach the Badgers in that game. Wisconsin seemed highly unlikely to make their third straight Rose Bowl after a series of narrow losses, but they stunned Nebraska 70-31 on Saturday in the Big Ten title game to earn yet another sun-splashed break from the Wisconsin winter for their hearty fan base. The Badgers finished third in the Big Ten Leaders Division, but capitalized on their chance to play for the title with Ohio State and Penn State ineligible for postseason play. After routing the Cornhuskers, the Badgers became the first five-loss team ever to reach the Rose Bowl -- and just the second Big Ten team to play in three straight Rose Bowls, joining Michigan in the late 1970s. Wisconsin wasn't as mediocre as its 7-5 regular-season record indicated, however. Those five losses were by a combined 19 points, including three overtime defeats -- and the Badgers left little doubt they're the best bowl-eligible team in the Big Ten with their demolition of Nebraska, the odds-on favorite to return to the stadium where the Huskers lost to UCLA back in September. Arkansas athletic director Jeff Long has been in the market for a new head coach since April 10th, the day he fired Bobby Petrino for his laundry list of misdeeds. The Razorbacks (4-8, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) had a tough season, and Long didn't wait long to announce that interim coach John L. Smith wouldn't return next season. Long reached his decision on Smith's fate quickly following the season-ending 20-13 loss to No. 8 LSU. The athletic director told the former Michigan State and Louisville coach of his decision Saturday morning, though Smith will remain with the program as a consultant through the end of his 10-month contract on Feb. 23, 2013. While Smith didn't prove the long-term answer for Arkansas, his tenure did allow Long to research and identify interested coaches across the country. The Razorbacks, 21-5 the last two seasons under Petrino, entered the season full of their usual Petrino-like bravado -- openly talking about the possibility of winning the SEC and a national championship. Their hopes were based on the return of senior quarterback Tyler Wilson and a healthy Knile Davis at running back.
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So Auburn isn't the only SEC team naming a new head coach today. I feel like this is a great hire. The man has his team making its third straight Rose Bowl appearance. Do you know how many teams would kill to make a BCS bowl game three years in a row and possibly more? I love what he has done at Wisconsin and I do hate the fact that they have lost five games this season and are still making the game over more deserving SEC teams like Georgia, LSU and Texas A&M but the bottom line is that they made the game, it doesn't matter how. Hopefully this is another hiring that keeps Kirby Smart with Alabama.
