Muffet McGraw Retires From Notre Dame After 33 Years

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish women’s basketball team has been among the best in the nation since, well forever it seems. A big reason for their success over the years has been coach Muffet McGraw, who spent 33 years with the team. On Wednesday (4/22) the longtime coach announced that it was time to step away and thus she retired at age 64.

"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."

McGraw went 848-252 here at Notre Dame and that translates to a winning percentage of 77.1%. The Irish won two national championships (2001, 2018) under her watch and they made it to the big Dance 24 years in a row, winning 67 tournament games overall with McGraw at the helm. Truly amazing numbers overall for McGraw, who is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2017) and the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame (2011). She is one of only five NCAA Division I men's and women's basketball coaches with at least 930 wins, 9 Final Fours, and multiple championships. The other individuals are Pat Summitt, Tara VanDerveer, Geno Auriemma, and Duke men's basketball coach Mike Krzyzewski. Not a bad group to be associated with.

So who will take over for the Irish? Niele Ivey will be replacing McGraw. She spent 17 seasons with the Irish as both an assistant coach and a player. We also note that last year, she was an assistant coach for the Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA. Ivey won a national title with Irish as a player in 2001 and then as an assistant back in 2018. She will inherit a Notre Dame team that was 13-18 last year. It was just the 2nd losing season that the Irish had under McGraw.

Ivey had many other offers at the college ranks but she turned them all down as leaving the South Bend area would uproot her son who was still in high school. Still, when the Grizzlies came calling, Ivey said that she couldn’t pass it up. In one year with Memphis, she really made her mark on the team.

Ivey learned a lot from McGraw and according to athletic director Jack Swarbrick, no one else was even considered for the job. It was all Ivey’s as long as she was interested, and she was.

“Those are big heels to fill,” Ivey said during an online news conference. “When you follow a legend, it's not easy. But I want to be myself. Always be true to myself, try to stay as authentic as I can.”

Being a Notre Dame fan, I sure hope that Ivey can get the Irish back on track this year and in the long run, be just as successful as her predecessor. GO IRISH!!!

Info Garnered From UPI & ABC News (Doug Feinberg)