SOUTH BEND, Ind. — After two years removed from the euphoria of winning her second national championship, Muffet McGraw knew it was time.
Time to relax a bit. Time to do something else. And time, hopefully, to watch her young team climb back up the rankings under someone else’s guidance on the rock-solid foundation she built over three decades at Notre Dame.
The Hall of Fame coach retired Wednesday with a resume that includes two national championships in 33 seasons at the school, a surprising decision to many of the countless players and coaches she has influenced on and off the court as a mentor and advocate for women.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished and I can turn the page to the next chapter in my life with no regrets, knowing that I gave it my best every day,” said McGraw, a four-time winner of the AP women’s basketball Coach of the Year.
The 64-year-old coach said she didn’t want to leave after the team lost in the title game in 2019 because she didn’t want the next coach to step into a rebuilding situation with all five starters from that team leaving for the WNBA.
“Where’s the honor in that? I really wasn’t ready,” McGraw said in an online news conference. Instead, she stuck around and her inexperienced team went 13-18 in the program’s first losing season since 1991-92.
“Now looking ahead to know we have a great recruiting class coming in, ranked in top 25 in (a) preseason poll,” she said. “We’re poised to make another run to make the Final Four. I’m leaving the program in a good place.”
Former Fighting Irish player and longtime assistant coach Niele Ivey will return to take over for McGraw.
She was on the Memphis Grizzlies staff last year after 17 seasons at Notre Dame.
