University of Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez first crossed paths with Kevin Plank back in the late 1990s, just a few years after the latter had founded Under Armour.
Back then, a company that has become a multibillion-dollar brand was very much in its infant stages.
Still, Alvarez, who was the Badgers’ football coach at the time, was impressed by Plank’s presentation that day. His gut told him Plank would be someone to keep an eye on in the business world.
“Kevin’s a go-getter,” Alvarez said. “Kevin is intense. Kevin is a thinker. You can see his mind’s always going.