VIDEO: Notre Dame Releases Tribute to Muffet McGraw After She Surprisingly Steps Down as WBB Coach
By Carter Owen
Hall of Famer Muffet McGraw shocked the college basketball world by announcing her retirement on Wednesday. During her 33-year tenure as the women's basketball coach at Notre Dame, McGraw amassed an overall record of 848-252, winning national championships in 2001 and 2018. In 2017, she became just the 13th female coach to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
After a Hall of Fame career, two national championships and a lifetime commitment to empowering women, @MuffetMcGraw steps down as the head coach of @NDwbb.
— The Fighting Irish (@FightingIrish) April 22, 2020
Thank you, Coach.
? https://t.co/GyUAW4RvHF#ThankYouMuffet pic.twitter.com/lHB8v96mFH
"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 Wednesday. "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."
The Fighting Irish will have a tough time replacing such a monumental figure in the South Bend community.
— Muffet McGraw (@MuffetMcGraw) April 22, 2020
McGraw's 936 total wins ranks sixth all-time among Division I coaches. The four-time AP Coach of the Year will be replaced by former Notre Dame player Niele Ivey. Ivey spent the past season on the Memphis Grizzlies' staff.