Barry Alvarez hasn't coached a game since winning the 2006 Capital One Bowl. Credit: Getty Images

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Madison - According to a source close to the UW football program, athletic director Barry Alvarez does not plan to allow Bret Bielema to coach the Badgers in the Rose Bowl on Jan. 1 against Stanford and may lead the team on the sideline himself.

That source said Alvarez, who was out of town and unavailable for comment, planned to oversee the team while he searches for a replacement for Bielema, who accepted a job Tuesday to coach the University of Arkansas.

Alvarez's last game as coach at UW was the 2006 Capitol One Bowl, a 24-10 victory over Auburn. He led UW to victories in the 1994, 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowls.

"That would sell a lot of tickets," a source said.

Bielema did not return messages, but according to another source the outgoing coach met with the UW players in a brief but emotional meeting Tuesday night.

The players were not told who would be coaching the team in Bielema's absence.

Alvarez released a statement Tuesday night. It read, in part:

"Along with finding a new coach, my other main objective is to make sure that our student-athletes, specifically our seniors playing in their final game as Badgers, have a tremendous experience in the Rose Bowl.

"We will do everything within our power to make that happen."

If Alvarez decides it is best to have a current member of the staff coach the team, the logical choices would be defensive line coach Charlie Partridge or defensive coordinator Chris Ash.

Ash joined the staff in 2010 and served as the team's secondary coach. He has been co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach for the last two seasons.

Partridge, who came to UW in 2008 from Pittsburgh, has the most seniority on the staff and is the associate head coach. He is also co-defensive coordinator.

Bielema himself has dealt with the news of coaches accepting jobs elsewhere before the Rose Bowl.

Two years ago, Bielema allowed then-defensive coordinator Dave Doeren to coach UW against TCU in the 2011 Rose Bowl after Doeren had accepted the head-coaching job at Northern Illinois.

UW lost to TCU, 21-19, though Doeren said afterward he did not feel his performance as defensive coordinator was compromised by his hiring at Northern Illinois.

"I wanted to finish the ride," Doeren said at the time. "I asked him: 'Is this something we can talk about or is it out of the question?' "

Bielema made it clear at the time he believed Doeren could handle the job and allowed him to coach in the game.

In the days leading to UW's Rose Bowl game against Oregon last season, the players learned they would be losing Paul Chryst and Bob Bostad, at the time UW's offensive coordinator and offensive line coach.

Chryst was named head coach at Pittsburgh. He hired Bostad and eventually added tight ends coach Joe Rudolph and linebackers coach Dave Huxtable, though Bostad took a job with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL before the season started.

UW lost to the Ducks, 45-38, in an entertaining game that wasn't decided until the final minute. All of Bielema's departing assistants coached in that game.

According to sources close to the program, the players learned throughout the day of Bielema's decision and were stunned to learn he would be leaving.

"No one saw this coming," a source said.

Did anyone see Alvarez on the sideline one more time? Likely not, though that now appears possible.