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Madison – Those who support the University of Wisconsin athletic department, both with their cheers and their checkbooks, have grown accustomed to success and stability in the three major programs.



Consider:



Barry Alvarez resurrected the football program and stayed on as head coach for 16 seasons, from 1990 through 2005. His successor, Bret Bielema, gave UW seven largely successful seasons before leaving for Arkansas.



Bo Ryan established the men’s basketball program as a Big Ten power and achieved a level of consistency that was remarkable in his run of 14-plus seasons before stepping down after 12 games this season.



Mike Eaves returned to UW in 2002 and in his fourth season as men's hockey coach guided the Badgers to their sixth national title. He lasted 14 seasons, though he wasn’t able to match the success of the 2005-’06 team that won the title in Milwaukee.



Now consider the dramatic change that has swept through those programs in a span of 15 months.



Paul Chryst, a Wisconsin native who played for UW, was hired in December of 2014 to lead the football program. He replaced Gary Andersen, who left after only two seasons because he discovered he wasn’t a good fit at UW.



Chryst, 50, was asked during his introductory news conference whether UW qualified as his dream job. He deferred and said the onus was on him to make it his dream job. Don’t be fooled, Chryst couldn’t be happier anywhere else.



Greg Gard worked at Ryan’s side for 23-plus seasons – at UW-Platteville, UWM and finally at UW. He was named interim head coach when Ryan stepped down on Dec. 15, earned the job by turning around a foundering team and on March 7 was named full-time head coach.



Gard, 45, a Wisconsin native who followed the fortunes of the program while growing up in tiny Cobb, turned down chances to leave Ryan’s side. He waited patiently for his shot. UW is his dream job.



Tony Granato, who was born in Downers Grove, Ill., but played college hockey at UW from 1983 through ’87, is set to replace Eaves. He is in his second season as an assistant with the Detroit Red Wings and reportedly will finish out the National Hockey League season before diving into his new job.

Granato, 51, played more than a decade in the NHL and has been an NHL coach fore more than a decade. No one can predict the future but it is safe to say Granato doesn’t view UW as a steppingstone to a better gig.



That Granato’s assistants – Mark Osiecki and Don Granato – played at UW only enhances their desire to re-establish the program as a contender for national titles. Both were members of the 1990 title team and Osiecki was an assistant under Eaves when UW won the title in '06.



Hiring coaches with strong ties to their respective program doesn’t guarantee success. However, hiring talented coaches who are emotionally invested in the program, the school and the state can lead to tremendous success.



UW supporters have witnessed upheaval in the three major programs in the past 15 months.



Then Chryst and his staff guided UW to a 10-3 mark, including a bowl victory over USC.



Then Gard and his staff guided UW to the Sweet 16 – after the Badgers stood 1-4 in the Big Ten and 9-9 overall in mid-January.



Today you will struggle to find any UW fan who isn’t excited about the impending hiring of Tony Granato.



Again, no one can predict the future but UW appears to be poised to enjoy another lengthy run of stability and success.

