Source: Paul Chryst to Wisconsin

— -- Former Wisconsin assistant and current Pittsburgh coach Paul Chryst is poised to become the Badgers' new head coach, a source confirmed to ESPN.com.

In a statement Friday, Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez said only that the job cannot be offered to any candidate prior to Wednesday because of university hiring policies and that any offer would need approval from the university's board of regents.

"We are continuing the process of finding our new head football coach. We have not offered the position to anyone," Alvarez said in the statement.

Alvarez, who flew to Tampa, Florida, on Thursday for an Outback Bowl promotion, was able to meet with Chryst, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Thursday.

Alvarez also had what was described as an "informal" meeting with former  Steven Jackson) and two 1,000-yard receivers (James Newson and Mike Hass).

ESPN's Brett McMurphy, ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg and Matt Fortuna and The Associated Press contributed to this report.