BTN.com staff, December 11, 2014

Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez had said that the Badgers players asked him to coach the football team in the upcoming Outback Bowl against Auburn.

After thinking it over, Alvarez said Thursday he will lead the team once again.

?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.?

Earlier, the school confirmed on Twitter that he will coach the team.

Alvarez coached against Auburn once before and beat the Tigers 24-10 in the 2006 Capital One Bowl.

Earlier Thursday, BTN reporter and WISC-TV sports reporter Jay Wilson talked with our crew from "Big Ten & Beyond" about the latest developments from Wisconsin after Gary Andersen left his position as football coach.

"The word is that Alvarez is going to coach the team," Wilson said on "Big Ten & Beyond."

Watch the entire conversation in the video in this post.