A source said Rohrman was asked to resign, but Rohrman would not confirm that. "Ultimately, it was my decision," he said.

Rohrman departs with a 61-63-12 overall record, including a 12-24-6 mark in the Big Ten Conference.

This year, UW finished 9-7-3 — its best winning percentage under Rohrman — and 1-4-1 in the Big Ten. Six of the seven losses were by one goal.

The Badgers, who haven't played in the NCAA tournament since winning the 1995 national championship, were believed to be one of the last teams eliminated from contention for the 48-team field that was announced Monday night.

"Obviously, there's always pressure to win at a Big Ten school — and obviously at Wisconsin, that's the expectation. And that's nothing different than what I would think coaches would have on themselves," said Rohrman, a former UW-Milwaukee player who was an assistant at Maryland for seven years before coming to UW to replace Kalekeni Banda. "For sure, there was the expectation that we would get in the (NCAA) tournament and do well in the Big Ten.

"We have fallen short, and ultimately the burden of responsibility falls on me. And I accept that — it comes with the job, it comes with the territory."

During Rohrman's tenure, UW had 17 players earn All-Big Ten honors and 44 claim Academic All-Big Ten awards.

Two of his players were selected in the Major League Soccer draft — midfielder Nick Van Sicklen, a former Madison West athlete, and defender Aaron Hohlbein, who recently completed his second season with the Kansas City Wizards.

"It's definitely a little bit of a shock. He was a great coach. I thought he did a great job of turning that program around, and it's just unfortunate that he had to leave the post," said Hohlbein, a former Middleton athlete who was a third-team All-American for UW in 2006.

"I thought he was a great ambassador of the university, and he really took the time to help the players not only on the field, but off the field as well. He got a core group of guys every year that would come in and do the work on the field and in the classroom, so I think you've got to give him a lot of credit."