Bret Bielema

The other two coaches to complete this feat were Philip King in 1896 and William Juneau in 1912.

A 30–24 victory over the Fighting Illini on October 28, Bielema became the first coach in Wisconsin history to win eight games in his first season.

He extended the record with his ninth victory on November 4, defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions, 13–3.

With a 24–21 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 11, Bielema became the first head coach in Big Ten history to win ten games in his first season.

Bret Arnold Bielema (born January 13, 1970) is an American football coach.

He is the head football coach at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, a position he has held since the 2021 season.

Bielema walked on as a defensive lineman at the University of Iowa under coach Hayden Fry, playing from 1989 to 1992.

Bielema lettered four years, earned a scholarship and served as team captain his senior season.

Bielema was part of the 1990 Iowa team that won a share of the Big Ten title.

In his senior season, after Iowa beat Iowa State 21–7, Bielema approached Iowa State head coach Jim Walden for a post-game handshake and said "You’re a big prick. It’s been a pleasure kicking your ass the last five years" (Iowa State had never beaten Iowa during Bielema's tenure with the team).

The moment caused considerable stir, with University of Iowa officials reprimanding Bielema and sending an official letter of apology to Walden.

Bielema graduated from Iowa with a bachelor's degree in marketing.

After going undrafted in the 1993 NFL Draft, Bielema signed as a free agent with the Seattle Seahawks, but was cut during the summer.

In 1994 he played for the Milwaukee Mustangs, a team in the Arena Football League.

Bielema returned to Iowa in 1994 to begin his coaching career under Fry as a graduate assistant.

In 1996, he was promoted to linebackers coach, a role he would hold until 2001.

In 1998, Fry retired and was replaced by former Iowa offensive line coach Kirk Ferentz, who had briefly coached Bielema in offensive line sets during preparation for the 1988 Peach Bowl.

Bielema, one of the leading recruiters on Fry's staff, continued on the road recruiting during the coaching search.

Ferentz retained only Bielema and quarterbacks coach Chuck Long from Fry's staff.

After the 2001 season, Bielema became co-defensive coordinator for the Kansas State Wildcats, coached by Bill Snyder, who had coached at Iowa with Fry for a decade.

Bielema and Bob Elliott replaced Phil Bennett, who had left to become the head coach of the SMU Mustangs.

During his three years with Ferentz at Iowa, Bielema recruited several players, most from Florida, that would form part of the core of the 2002 Iowa team, including Heisman runner-up quarterback Brad Banks, wide receivers C. J. Jones and Maurice Brown, nose tackle Colin Cole, cornerback Antwan Allen, and linebackers Fred Barr and Abdul Hodge.

Bielema coached the K-State defense for two seasons, helping the Wildcats win the 2003 Big XII Championship.

Bielema left Kansas State after the 2003 season to become the Wisconsin defensive coordinator under head coach Barry Alvarez, who had also coached at Iowa under Fry.

Bielema served as defensive coordinator for two seasons.

In July 2005, Alvarez announced he would retire after the 2005 season and become the Badger athletic director.

Bielema served as the head football coach at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012, achieving a 68–24 record and taking them to three straight Rose Bowl Games, although they lost each time.

Alvarez also announced he had chosen Bielema as his successor, and would take over in 2006.

In his first season as head coach of the Badgers in 2006, Bielema's team ended the regular season 11–1 (7–1 in Big Ten Conference play).

With a 14–0 victory over San Diego State on September 16, 2006, Bielema became the third Wisconsin head coach to win the first three games of his career.

Later, with a 24–3 win over Purdue on October 21, Bielema tied the record for most wins by a first-year coach at Wisconsin with seven.

With the 35–3 defeat of the University at Buffalo on November 18, 2006, Bielema became the first coach in school history to win 11 games in the regular season.

After a 17–14 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2007, he became the third coach in NCAA history to win 12 games in his rookie season, finishing 12–1.

He was named Big Ten Coach of the Year.

Bielema coached Wisconsin to victories in 17 of his first 18 games.

That represents the third-best start to a head coaching career in Big Ten history.

He was the head football coach at University of Arkansas from 2013 to 2017, tallying a mark of 29–34.

Bielema was an assistant coach in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons, in 2018 and 2019 with the New England Patriots and in 2020 with the New York Giants.

Bielema attended Prophetstown High School in Prophetstown, Illinois.

He played tight end and linebacker in high school.