Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw retires

NOTRE DAME, Ind. (UPI) — Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw, a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, announced Wednesday that she is retiring from coaching after 33 years at the school.

“It has been my great honor to represent the University of Notre Dame these past 33 years, but the time has come for me to step down as your head basketball coach,” McGraw said in a statement. “I want to thank Monk Malloy and Father Jenkins for giving me the opportunity to coach the game I love at a university I love.

“… I am grateful to have worked with the best assistant coaches in the business, and I have been blessed to coach so many phenomenal women. To the best fans in the country, it was my honor and privilege to play for you.”

Niele Ivey will replace McGraw, 64, as the head coach of the Fighting Irish. Ivey spent 17 seasons at Notre Dame as both a player and an assistant coach before serving as an assistant for the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies this past season.

McGraw posted an 848-252 record and won two national championships (2001, 2018) at Notre Dame. Under McGraw, the Fighting Irish won 67 NCAA tournament games and made 24 consecutive trips to the tournament.

While McGraw is stepping away from basketball, she said she will remain active within the university and local communities.

“This is a retirement from coaching,” McGraw said. “I am excited about the opportunity to continue to promote women’s equality and to speak on behalf of all women across the country. And to use my platform in any way I can.

“I’d like to get more involved in community work. I find I’ve turned into a real activist, and I’m really enjoying that. I hope a lot of things are in store, and definitely a different page than I’ve been on.”

McGraw became the 13th female coach to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017. She was also inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in 2011.

McGraw is one of only five NCAA Division I men’s and women’s basketball coaches with at least 930 wins, nine Final Fours and multiple championships. The other individuals are Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer, Geno Auriemma and Duke men’s basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski.

Reporting by Connor Grott

United Press International

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