Tom Dienhart, BTN.com Senior Writer, December 4, 2012

Three days after leading Wisconsin to its third consecutive Rose Bowl, Bret Bielema agreed to become Arkansas' head coach. Yahoo! Sports and "Big Ten Football & Beyond" correspondent Pat Forde first reported the news.

Bielema, who will be introduced Wednesday, led the Badgers to a 70-31 win over Nebraska in Saturday night's Big Ten title game at Lucas Oil Stadium. With the win, the Badgers became the first Big Ten team to reach Pasadena three consecutive seasons since Michigan from 1976-78.

Arkansas 2012
Date Opponent Result / Time
9/1 vs. Jacksonville State W 49 – 24
9/8 vs. Louisiana-Monroe L 31 – 34
9/15 vs. 1 Alabama L 0 – 52
9/22 vs. Rutgers L 26 – 35
9/29 at Texas A&M L 10 – 58
10/6 at Auburn W 24 – 7
10/13 vs. Kentucky W 49 – 7
10/27 vs. Mississippi L 27 – 30
11/3 vs. Tulsa W 19 – 15
11/10 at 12 South Carolina L 20 – 38
11/17 at Mississippi State L 14 – 45
11/23 vs. 8 LSU L 13 – 20

But Bielema is off to a new challenge in Fayetteville, where he will take over for interim coach John L. Smith.

[RELATED: Bielema bolts for Arkansas]

Bielema went 68-24 in seven seasons in Madison with a 37-19 Big Ten mark. He led the Badgers to bowls each season after taking over for Barry Alvarez in 2006. Read Alvarez's statement on Bielema's move.

Bielema has no connections to the SEC, as he played at Iowa. He also began his coaching career in Iowa City before working at Kansas State and then Wisconsin.

[RELATED: Twitter: Tweets on Bielema's move]

What direction does Wisconsin go? It?s anyone?s guess at this point. This is one of the nation?s marquee jobs and figures to attract a lot of interest from around the nation, as Bielema has helped make Wisconsin one of the better jobs in the nation.

What do you think about this news? Drop me a note below.

About Tom Dienhart BTN.com senior writer Tom Dienhart is a veteran sports journalist who covers Big Ten football and men's basketball for BTN.com and BTN TV. Find him on Twitter and Facebook, read all of his work at btn.com/tomdienhart, and subscribe to his posts via RSS. Also, send questions to his weekly mailbag using the form below and read all of his previous answers in his reader mailbag section.

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