Keynote

Chris McIntosh, Director of Athletics

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Chris McIntosh began his tenure as Director of Athletics on July 1, 2021.

A former college student-athlete, professional football player and businessman, McIntosh brings a unique blend of experiences to his role. Student-athlete opportunity is at the forefront of McIntosh’s leadership approach and he knows first-hand that lives can be elevated through the opportunities provided through college athletics.

In his first three years, McIntosh has led the development of a substantive strategic plan for Wisconsin Athletics, hired new head coaches for Badger football (Luke Fickell) and men’s hockey (Mike Hastings), launched the largest capital project (a $285 million indoor football practice facility) in UW Athletics history and guided the athletic department into a significantly changing college athletics landscape.

McIntosh previously served as Wisconsin’s deputy athletic director from 2017-21. McIntosh, a consensus All-America offensive tackle who captained Wisconsin’s back-to-back Big Ten and Rose Bowl champions in 1998 and 1999, returned to UW in 2014 after a successful business career. He was hired in December of 2014 as Wisconsin’s associate athletic director for business development and was responsible for identifying, developing and enhancing new and existing sources of revenue for UW Athletics.

A native of Pewaukee, Wisconsin, McIntosh spent most of his professional career prior to returning to UW focused on health and wellness start-ups. McIntosh founded, managed, and sold numerous ventures that have positively impacted the lives, and health, of hundreds of thousands of people.

McIntosh was an Outland Trophy finalist for the Badgers in 1999 and started 50 straight games during his college career. He started every game of Ron Dayne’s record-breaking career and helped pave the way for the running back’s Heisman Trophy season in 1999. He also earned Academic All-Big Ten honors and was a first-round draft choice of the Seattle Seahawks in 2000 and played in Seattle for three seasons.

McIntosh and his wife, Deann, have two daughters, Delaney and Reagan (both college volleyball student-athletes), and a son, Ethan

Steven Hopper, Associate Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer, Universities of Wisconsin

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Steven D. Hopper is the Associate Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer for the Universities of Wisconsin. Steven has extensive experience in establishing a common strategic IT vision, streamlining IT operations, and successfully leading large-scale system-wide initiatives.

Previously, Steven was Interim Vice President and Chief Information Officer for the University of North Carolina (UNC) System, where he served for 19 years at both the campus and system level. He also held positions as Associate Chief Information Officer for Application Services and Director of Online Services, both at UNC. He was twice nominated for the Governor’s Awards for Excellence in North Carolina.  Steven earned his Master of Science and Bachelor of Science degrees, both in Computer Science, from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.