Wisconsin football: Shaun Snee tabbed as new director of strength and conditioning

When Inoke Breckterfield left the Wisconsin Badgers to become the defensive line coach at Vanderbilt, that started a string of dominoes within the coaching staff. Former strength coach Ross Kolodziej, a former defensive NFL defensive lineman following his career as a Badger, made the transition to replace Breckterfield.

However, that move left a massive opening in the strength department with winter conditioning ramping up. Following Kolodziej's move, most figured that there was already a succession plan in place, and it appears as though that was the case.

On Monday afternoon, the university announced the promotion to Director of Football Strength and Conditioning for Shaun Snee.

Snee began his career as a graduate assistant under Paul Chryst while at Pittsburgh, and then had a one-year stint at UMass as an assistant strength coach before rejoining Chryst in Madison in the same capacity under Kolodziej’s tutelage.

Over the past six seasons as an assistant strength coach within the football program he has been tasked with leading the nutrition program, GPS sports science initiative, and has been actively involved in the program in many other facets.

According to a press briefing sent out by UW Athletics, Snee states that “there may be some tweaks here and there, but the fundamentals of our approach to strength and conditioning won’t change. I’m fortunate to work with a great staff and we will continue to take a holistic approach to developing our guys that’s rooted in the science of mental and physical performance.”

Given his experience under Chryst and Kolodziej, one would have to imagine that fans can expect much of the same from Snee’s approach to strength training, but nonetheless this announcement is crucial considering how important the strength department is within the football program.