Varsity is the free Official Digital Magazine of Wisconsin Athletics, covering Badgers football, basketball, hockey and more each week.
Issue link: http://catalog.e-digitaleditions.com/i/151803
In taking over as Wisconsin's newly-established Director of Cross Country and Track & Field ― and overseeing the merger of the men's and women's programs ― Byrne said, "To me this is fantastic, it's everything I dreamed of." On June 14, Nuttycombe announced he was retiring after guiding the Badgers to 26 Big Ten titles during his 30 years on the job. Nuttycombe was named Big Ten Coach of the Year 22 times. "Replacing my good friend Eddie Nuttycombe, you've got to be careful sometimes on what you wish for," Byrne said. "When you look at his record, what you see on paper is pretty amazing." Given this backdrop, Nuttycombe's extraordinary track record and Hall of Fame resume, Byrne said, "Some guys would say, 'I don't want to be the guy to follow that.' "But, to me, that's a challenge. I'm not afraid of it. I'm excited about this challenge; I'm looking forward to it. The plan is to keep winning ― that's what I came here for." • • • • "WHEN YOU LOOK AT (NUTTYCOMBE'S) RECORD, WHAT YOU SEE ON PAPER IS PRETTY AMAZING,'' BYRNE SAID. "SOME GUYS WOULD SAY, 'I DON'T WANT TO BE THE GUY TO FOLLOW THAT.' BUT, TO ME, THAT'S A CHALLENGE. I'M NOT AFRAID OF IT.'' n 2008, Nuttycombe hired Byrne from Iona College, a Division I program in New Rochelle, N.Y., 20 miles north of Manhattan. Bryne had known nothing but success during his 24 years there. Four NCAA podium finishes in men's cross country punctuated his final five seasons at Iona. "I love the process of chasing titles," Byrne said. "You can't always win. But chasing the dream is fun." He wasn't chasing another job, though, not even after leading Iona to a runner-up finish in the 2007 NCAA Cross Country Championships, the highest finish in school and Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference history. "I think it's no secret that when I came out here five years ago to look at the place, I wasn't that interested," Byrne said. "I got talked into it. A few people close to me said, 'You've got to give it a shot.' "The minute I met Ed, I knew right away, 'This is the guy I want to work with. This is the guy I want to learn a part of the business from.' I really didn't have a lot of experience in the track aspect. "And we just hit it off right way. It's his passion; you can feel it when you're around the guy. I felt it sitting down and talking to him and I said, 'I want to be around that, I want to be a part of this.' "It's his passion for winning and his love of the sport and his love of the kids that's exciting to be around. We were very much on the same page. We clicked from Day One." Byrne admitted that he came to Madison with the hope that "I would be that guy" when Nuttycombe retired. But there were certainly no guarantees that it would play out that way. "In this business, you never know, you never ever know," said Byrne, 57. "To be quite honest, as we were getting along in age, I was thinking, 'This shot might not come my way.' I 41