Twitter handle: @BretBielema

Bret Bielema came to the University of Iowa as a walk-on and by the end of his first season he had earned himself a scholarship.  A hard working and tough Hawkeye was born & he epitomized what the Iowa style was all about. Bielema finished his collegiate career as a 4 year letter winner and was named team captain in 1992, his senior season.  He signed a free agent contract with the Seattle Seahawks but never made the team.  He returned to the Midwest and signed with the Milwaukee Mustangs of the Arena League.  While his playing career had come to an end, coaching was calling and Bielema became a graduate assistant with the Hawkeyes for the 1994 & 1995 seasons. He took over as Linebackers Coach for the 1996 season and held that position through 2001. He left the Hawkeyes to join the staff of Kansas State under their Head Coach Bill Snyder, a former Hawkeye Offensive Coordinator. Bielema took over as the Co-Defensive Coordinator in charge of Linebackers for 2002-2003. He left KSU and went to work for another former Hawkeye in Barry Alvarez, who was the Head Coach at Wisconsin. Bielema took charge as the Defensive Coordinator & Linebackers coach for 2004 & 2005, although it was somewhat expected that he was being groomed to replace Alvarez as Head Coach. In 2006 that became a reality & he remains the Head Coach of the Badgers this season. Bielema has compiled a 60-18 record overall while in his 6th year running the Wisconsin program. His #9 Wisconsin Badgers 2011 results:

Week 1 vs. UNLV: Win (51-17)
Week 2 vs. Oregon St.: Win (35-0)
Week 3 vs. Northern Illinois: Win (49-7)
Week 4 vs. South Dakota: Win (59-10)
Week 5 vs. #8 Nebraska: Win (48-17)
Week 6: Bye
Week 7 vs. Indiana: Win (59-7)
Week 8 vs. #16 Michigan State: Loss (31-37)
Week 9 vs. Ohio State: Loss (29-33)
Week 10 vs. Purdue: Win (62-17)
Week 11 vs. Minnesota: Win (42-13)
Week 12 vs. Illinois: Win (28-17)
Week 13 vs. #19 Penn State: Win (45-7)
Big Ten Championship vs.  #13 Michigan State: Win (42-39)