Barry Alvarez Will Coach Wisconsin in Outback Bowl

Longtime Wisconsin head coach Barry Alvarez is returning to the sidelines from his current role as the school's athletic director to lead the Badgers in the Outback Bowl.

The decision comes after the surprisingly swift exit of Gary Andersen, who is leaving to become head coach at Oregon State, per ESPN.com.

Wisconsin made things official on the school's website:

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Wisconsin Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez announced Thursday that he will assume head coaching duties for the Wisconsin football team as it prepares for its Outback Bowl matchup with Auburn on Jan. 1 in Tampa.

“A number of the seniors met with me on Wednesday after our team meeting and asked if I would consider coaching the team,” Alvarez said. “I told them I would have to sleep on it. After thinking it over and meeting with some of the seniors again this morning I have decided to coach. I feel this gives our assistants an opportunity to concentrate on getting the team ready for a very good opponent in Auburn. My goal is to make sure our players, especially the seniors playing their last game, have a memorable experience and we do everything we can to prepare to win the game.”

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Kirk Herbstreit of ESPN first reported the decision.

Alvarez coached the Badgers for 16 years starting in 1990. He's compiled a 118-74-4 career record, which includes a 2012 Rose Bowl loss when he temporarily took the reins after the departure of head coach Bret Bielema.

Before the announcement, Adam Kramer of Bleacher Report commented on Alvarez:

Jesse Temple of Fox Sports passed along comments from the 67-year-old coach, who admitted Andersen's exit was a surprise.

"I was very surprised," Alvarez said. "I really had no idea that this was in the works."

Now he's forced to quickly shift gears to get Wisconsin prepared for a high-profile clash with a talented Tigers squad on New Year's Day.

His previous experience making the change, which resulted in a 20-14 Rose Bowl defeat to Stanford, should help him this time around.