Barry Alvarez will coach Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl

Come January, a familiar face will lead Wisconsin onto the field at the Rose Bowl: Barry Alvarez.

Alvarez, the former Wisconsin coach and the school's current athletic director, announced Thursday that he would serve as a one-game interim replacement for Bret Bielema, who accepted a position at Arkansas on Tuesday.

Alvarez told reporters that his decision came after several Wisconsin players, including the team's captains, told him that they wanted Alvarez to coach the team in Pasadena.

"I told him if I was going to coach, I wasn't going to go out there to screw around. I was going to go out there to win," Alvarez said of his conversation with Wisconsin co-captain Mike Taylor, according to the Wisconsin State Journal.

While he will rely on Wisconsin's coordinators to create a game plan, Alvarez said that he would oversee both sides of the ball.

Alvarez coached Wisconsin from 1990-2005, winning a school-record 118 games and reaching three Rose Bowls – in 1994, 1998 and 1999. Bielema joined Alvarez's staff in 2004 as the defensive coordinator, eventually becoming the Badgers' coach-in-waiting before replacing Alvarez in 2006.

Alvarez went 3-0 at the Rose Bowl; Bielema record was 0-2.

"I think he's actually coaching their bowl game," Bielema said Wednesday. "I just heard that before I came here, which would be awesome. They might finally win one. Everyone tells me he won three and I lost two."

Alvarez said, "There's no venue prettier in all of sports than the Rose Bowl. I feel it's a special place. It doesn't get a bit old to me."

On Tuesday, Bielema surprised the university – and the rest of the Big Ten – by leaving Wisconsin for Arkansas, which was in search for a permanent replacement for Bobby Petrino.

"I was very surprised when Bret told me he was taking the offer from Arkansas," Alvarez said Tuesday. "He did a great job for us during his seven years as head coach, both on the field and off. I want to thank him for his work and wish him the best at Arkansas."

Alvarez said Thursday that a coaching candidate visited him "five minutes" after he heard that Bielema was headed to Arkansas.

He also told reporters that contrary to early speculation, Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst, a former Wisconsin offensive coordinator, would not be a candidate for the Badgers' open position.

"I wouldn't feel right and it wouldn't be appropriate" to hire Chryst, Alvarez said, especially after he helped Chryst land the Pittsburgh job a year ago.

Wisconsin won't use a search committee to find Bielema's replacement. "Most search committees use me," Alvarez said.