Early Wednesday morning, a rumor began spreading on Twitter saying that former Wisconsin football coach and athletic director Barry Alvarez had died.
The news must have shocked Alvarez himself, who despite some tweets to the contrary, is very much alive.
“Multiple Wisconsin administrators confirm former #Badgers AD and football coach Barry Alvarez is still with us, despite a rumor on Twitter this morning. Current UW AD Chris McIntosh spoke with Alvarez this morning,” clarified Wisconsin State Journal reporter Colton Bartholomew.
We’re not quite sure where the rumor originated, but the most prominent person to post about Alvarez’s “death” was former Ohio State football star Matt Finkes at 8 a.m. ET this morning.
“Football lost a legend today. Barry was a pillar of the sport & a great guy,” Finkes wrote. “Never forget him coaching me in the East West Shrine game & coming back to the hotel & seeing him & my dad at the bar having scotch & telling stories till the wee hours. RIP Barry.”
Someone clearly fed Finkes bad info, and he didn’t do a good enough job following up on it.
Alvarez, 77, was Wisconsin’s head coach from 1990-2005 and its athletic director from 2004-21. In his time on the sideline, he won three Big Ten titles and two Big Ten Coach of the Year awards.
Alvarez spent the 2022 season as an adviser for the Big Ten but stepped away from that role before last fall. Hopefully, he’ll address the fake death rumors at some point today.