Senior running back Zach Brown will not return to the Wisconsin football team in 2011 and will instead explore his options to transfer to another program, according to a release from UW Athletic Communications.

Head coach Bret Bielema announced the news Tuesday, thanking Brown for his contributions to the Badgers over the last four seasons.

Brown has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining. He is on pace to graduate from UW in August and, thanks to a new NCAA rule, will therefore not to have sit out a season before regaining his elibility the way most transfers are required to do.

Despite rushing for 250 yards in a win at Minnesota as a true freshman, Brown has been buried on the Badgers' depth chart, especially since fumbling became a problem for him early in the 2009 season. He elected to redshirt in 2010 and watched John Clay, Montee Ball and James White each rush for over 996 yards as Wisconsin claimed a share of the Big Ten title.

With the returns of Ball and White and the emergence of redshirt freshman Jeff Lewis, finding carries would have again been a challenge for Brown in 2011.

Click on the link above for the full release.