Notre Dame women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw is retiring after 33 years with the Irish, the school announced Wednesday to the shock of the women's basketball world. Former Irish player and longtime assistant/associate head coach Niele Ivey will return to South Bend as her replacement.
"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, 64, 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 have learned much about leadership from the many athletic directors with whom I have served, and in particular, I want to thank Jack Swarbrick for his unwavering support."
McGraw leaves behind one of the most successful coaching legacies in collegiate sports, compiling 936 wins, ranking sixth among Division I coaches, as well as securing two national titles (2001 and 2018), nine Final Four appearances, 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths and 31 20-win seasons (11 of 30 wins). The accomplishments helped land McGraw in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, where she became the 13th woman to be inducted.
McGraw's retirement comes following a disappointing season two years following its national championship and one removed from an appearance in the national title game. Between all five 2018-2019 starters departing for the WNBA and a slew of injuries and transfers, the Irish finished with a 13-18 record this season, 8-10 in the ACC. After bowing out of the conference tournament in the first round, Notre Dame was on track to miss its first NCAA Tournament since 1995.
Of course, McGraw and Notre Dame's battles with Geno Auriemma and UConn created arguably the sport's defining rivalry over the last decade: The two old Big East foes were well familiar with each other, but the greatest intrigue came on the national stage: Notre Dame bested UConn in two straight national semifinal games (2011 and 2012) before falling in the national championship game to Texas A&M and then Baylor. UConn got its revenge the following three years, knocking Notre Dame out of the NCAA Tournament in three straight seasons (first in the Final Four and then twice in the national championship) on its way to earning titles Nos. 8 through 10.
More recently, the Irish retook the edge, defeating the Huskies in the 2018 and 2019 Final Fours, the former at the hands of an Arike Ogunbowale buzzer beater and the latter in a narrow five-point defeat. After the team's most recent meeting in December, one of the most lopsided games in the rivalry's history, UConn and Auriemma improved to 38-13 all-time against Notre Dame and McGraw.
Between her time as a player from 1997-2001 and her tenure on the coaching staff, Ivey has already spent 17 years part of the Notre Dame women's basketball program. She'll take the reins after spending a season working for the Memphis Grizzlies as an assistant coach.
"I am so honored to be able to follow in the legacy that Coach McGraw built here at Notre Dame," Ivey said in a statement. "My love and appreciation for Coach McGraw is beyond anything I can express. She's more than a mentor, more than a friend; she's one of the most influential people in my life. I am full of gratitude for Coach McGraw and what she has done for me. She was the first to give me an opportunity to play for Notre Dame and coach here as well. I will forever be grateful for her love and support. I would also like to thank Jack Swarbrick and Father Jenkins for having the faith to move this program forward with me. I can never thank you enough for this incredible opportunity."
Prior to McGraw's announcement, the UConn-Notre Dame series was set to run through the 2023-2024 season, with the Huskies next traveling to South Bend in 2020-21 and 2022-23 and the Irish returning to Storrs in 2021-22 and 2023-24.
