Bret Arnold Bielema (/ˈbiːləmɑː/; born January 13, 1970) is an American college football coach. He was most recently the head football coach of the University of Arkansas, ending with a 29–34 record. Bielema also served as head football coach at University of Wisconsin–Madison from 2006 to 2012, achieving a 68–24 record.
Bielema played college football as a defensive lineman at the University of Iowa under coach Hayden Fry from 1989 to 1992, serving as team captain his senior season. Bielema graduated from Iowa with a bachelor's degree in marketing. He went on to play for the Milwaukee Mustangs, a team in the Arena Football League.
In his first season as head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers in 2006, Bielema's team ended the regular season 11–1 (7–1 in Big Ten Conference play). With a 14–0 victory over San Diego State on September 16, 2006, Bielema became the third Wisconsin head coach to win the first three games of his career. Later, with a 24–3 win over Purdue on October 21, Bielema tied the record for most wins by a first-year coach at UW with seven. The other two coaches to complete this feat were Philip King in 1896 and William Juneau in 1912. A 30–24 victory over the Fighting Illini on October 28, Bielema became the first coach in Wisconsin history to win eight games in his first season. He then extended the record with his ninth victory on November 4, defeating the Penn State Nittany Lions, 13–3. With a 24–21 victory over the Iowa Hawkeyes on November 11, Bielema became the first head coach in Big Ten history to win ten games in his first season. With the 35–3 defeat of the University at Buffalo on November 18, 2006, Bielema became the first coach in UW history to win 11 games in the regular season. After a 17–14 victory over the Arkansas Razorbacks in the Capital One Bowl on January 1, 2007, he became the third coach in NCAA history to win 12 games in his rookie season, finishing 12–1.