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Luke Joseph Fickell (born August 18, 1973) is an American college football coach and former player. He is the head football coach for the University of Wisconsin–Madison, a position he has held since 2023. Previously he was the head coach at the University of Cincinnati, a position he held from 2016 through 2022. Fickell played college football as a Nose tackle at Ohio State University from 1993 to 1996 and then was an assistant coach for the Buckeyes. He was interim head coach at Ohio State for the entire 2011 season.
In 2011, Fickell was originally named to serve as interim head coach in place of Jim Tressel, who was given a five-game suspension by the NCAA due to a recruiting scandal. However, in May of that year, Tressel resigned and Fickell was given a one-year contract to serve as interim coach, only for the 2011 season.
After Ohio State posted a 6–6 regular season record, Fickell was passed up as the permanent head coach, and instead Ohio State hired Urban Meyer. Fickell guided the Buckeyes to the 2012 Gator Bowl against the Florida Gators. After Meyer took the helm, Fickell returned to his old job as co-defensive coordinator (helping guide the Buckeyes to the 2014 CFP National Championship), a job in which he served until he was named head coach at Cincinnati. While on Meyer's staff, Fickell was part of the coaching staff that won the National Championship in the 2014 season.
In his first season, Fickell led the Bearcats to a 4–8 record.
The 2018 season would be a historic turnaround of the program, finishing with an 11–2 record and a 35–31 victory in the Military Bowl over Virginia Tech. Fickell was named AAC Coach of the Year for the 2018 season, which was only the third 11-win season in the University of Cincinnati history.
He led the team to another 11-win season in 2019. The Bearcats reeled off nine straight wins after falling 42–0 to Ohio State in the second game of the year. The team won the East Division championship in the AAC for the first time, but fell two straight weeks to Memphis, in the final regular season game and in the AAC Conference Championship. For the second straight year, Cincinnati won its bowl game over an Atlantic Coast Conference team, winning the Birmingham Bowl over Boston College by a score of 38–6.
Before the start of the 2020 season Fickell agreed to a contract extension which would keep him at Cincinnati through the 2026 season. Fickell had previously received head coaching interest from other schools such as Michigan State, Florida State, West Virginia, Louisville, and Maryland.
Fickell was one of thirteen coaches named to the watchlist for the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Award before the 2020 season.
In 2020, Luke Fickell led the Cincinnati Bearcats to a 9–1 campaign including Cincinnati's second perfect regular season which included winning the 2020 AAC Championship Game against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Cincinnati was selected for the 2021 Peach Bowl against the #9 Georgia Bulldogs. Both teams went into the game down a number of key players due to injury, illness, or opt-outs, including Cincinnati's two All-Americans Sauce Gardner and James Wiggins. After leading by a score of 21–10 entering the fourth quarter, Cincinnati ultimately fell to Georgia on a 53-yard field goal with 7 seconds left in the game, by a final score of 24–21. Fickell was named AAC Coach of the Year for the second time in his career.
In 2021, Fickell again led the Bearcats to a perfect regular-season record, including non-conference wins at the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Indiana Hoosiers. Cincinnati then defended their American Athletic Conference Football Championship with a 35–20 victory over the Houston Cougars. With a record of 13–0 as the only undefeated team in the nation, Cincinnati was selected as the #4 seed in the College Football Playoff, making them the first program outside of a "Power 5" conference to advance. Fickell was named AAC Coach of the Year for the third time in his career, and for the second consecutively, as well as being named the winner of six other major awards including Home Depot Coach of the Year, Sporting News College Football Coach of the Year, Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year, Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year, AFCA Coach of the Year, and the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. Later on Cincinnati would go on to lose the College Football Playoff Cotton Bowl Semifinal to the University of Alabama and Head coach Nick Saban falling to them 27–6.
In the 2022 season, Fickell led the team to a 9–3 record in the regular season. The Bearcats lost to Louisville 24–7 in the Fenway Bowl, although Fickell had resigned prior to the bowl game.
In Fickell's first full season as head coach in 2023, he led the Badgers to a 7–5 record in the regular season. The Badgers ultimately lost 35–31 to the LSU Tigers in the ReliaQuest Bowl for a final record of 7–6. Following the season, Fickell received a one year contract extension and pay raise in January 2024.
The 2024 season was less successful. Off the field, Fickell's handpicked advisor Jack Del Rio resigned mid-season after crashing his vehicle onto a neighborhood residence while intoxicated, and Fickell fired offensive coordinator Phil Longo after 10 games, with no named replacement for the remainder of the season. Fickell received criticism for answering, "Why does it matter?" when asked who would call plays in place of Longo. After a 5–2 start to the season, the Badgers lost 5 consecutive games to conclude 2024; the 5–7 record guaranteed a losing season and no Wisconsin bowl game for the first time in 22 years. In addition, Wisconsin lost all three trophy games to Big Ten rivals by large margins. During the offseason, Fickell received another contract extension.
Fickell's eldest son, Landon, committed to Cincinnati as an
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