MADISON, Wis. — Zigzagging through campus on the 15-minute walk to his 8 a.m. class in Nancy Nicholas Hall, a black backpack slung over one shoulder and sporting a red University of Wisconsin warm-up jacket, Tony Granato looks like an average college student.

And Granato is, in fact, a student, working toward his bachelor’s degree in human development and family studies. But he is also the first-year hockey coach at one of the country’s most historically successful programs.

A former Badgers captain, Granato was hired March 30 to replace Mike Eaves.

Before he could assume the job, though, Granato had to agree to complete his undergraduate degree, a requisite for any head coach at the university, within one academic year. Because he took time off three times in his four years at Wisconsin to compete with the United States national team, Granato left Wisconsin 16 credits short of a diploma.

He took two classes over the summer, and he has two classes this semester: Racial and Ethnic Families in the U.S., which meets on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 8 to 9:15 a.m., and Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, which meets for three hours every other Friday morning. He will complete his last five credit hours with two classes in the spring and is scheduled to graduate in May.