Wednesday marked the end of an era for Notre Dame, UConn and women’s basketball as a whole when Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw announced she is retiring after 33 years with the Irish, much to the shock of the sports 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.”
McGraw leaves behind one of the greatest coaching legacies in collegiate sports, compiling 936 wins (sixth among Division I coaches) as well as winning two national titles (2001 and 2018). Her teams earned nine Final Four appearances, 24 consecutive NCAA Tournament berths and 31 20-win seasons with 11 of 30 or more. Those accomplishments and more helped land McGraw in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, making her the 13th woman to be inducted.
Of course, McGraw’s success at the helm of the Irish included frequent high-stakes, fiery battles against Geno Auriemma and UConn, creating arguably the sport’s top rivalry over the last decade.
“It was a real surprise when I found out Muffet was retiring, as I’m sure it was to a lot of people,” Auriemma said in a statement. “She leaves behind a great legacy of coaching, winning and competing that translated into a Hall of Fame career. We’re going to miss the competition and we’re going to miss the impact she had on our game. Congratulations to Muffet on a tremendous career. We had some memorable moments that will live forever in the history of women’s basketball.”
McGraw’s retirement comes following a disappointing season two years after Notre Dame won the national championship and one after it played in the 2019 national title game. With all five starters from that season departing for the WNBA, along with a slew of injuries and transfers, the Irish finished the 2019-20 campaign with a 13-18 record (8-10 in the ACC). Bowing out of the conference tournament in the first round, Notre Dame was on track to miss its first NCAA Tournament since 1995.
In a virtual press conference held late Wednesday afternoon, McGraw didn’t delve into significant detail regarding the timing of her decision, but said that since the Irish’s 2018 title she had been assessing yearly whether to return. She feels now that “we have a great recruiting class coming in … and I think the program is right back where it should be and poised to make another run to the Final Four. I feel like I’m leaving the program in a good place.”
The coach expressed she is looking forward to embarking on new endeavors, including potentially teaching at Notre Dame, getting more involved with community work and advocacy surrounding women’s equality.
What started as a conference rivalry between UConn and Notre Dame eventually emerged as a yearly showdown with national prominence. It started when Notre Dame defeated UConn in two straight Final Fours (2011 and 2012) before falling to Texas A&M and then Baylor in national title games. On its way to earning titles Nos. 8 through 10, UConn got its revenge the following three years, knocking Notre Dame out of the NCAA Tournament for three straight seasons (first in the national semifinal and then twice in national championship games).
More recently, the Irish retook the advantage, defeating the Huskies in the 2018 Final Four on Arike Ogunbowale’s buzzer-beater in overtime, then in 2019 with a five-point win. Ironically, Auriemma’s final meeting with McGraw — an 81–57 UConn victory in early December — produced one of the most lopsided games in the rivalry’s history. Auriemma’s ultimate all-time record against McGraw will rest at 38-13.
Despite their shared history as Philadelphians and as former assistants at St. Joseph’s, McGraw and Auriemma’s relationship soured as time went on, with the coaches frequently exchanging barbs surrounding their hotly-contested matchups.
McGraw reflected fondly on the programs’ rivalry and its impact on the game during Wednesday’s press conference.
“I have to say that that is one thing I’m going to miss. I love that rivalry,” McGraw said. “I think it was great for women’s basketball. When we came into the Big East years ago, Connecticut was the measuring stick, and now to be a team that people know we’re going to give them a great game, it’s going to be a terrific, hard-fought battle, there’s going to be a lot of intensity, I loved all those moments. It was fun watching them recently on ESPN to see all those great wins that we had.”
When a reporter asked if McGraw had heard from Auriemma since her announcement, the coach said she hasn’t caught up on all of her congratulatory text messages but “I’m sure he’s one of them.”
Between her time as a player from 1997-2001 and her tenure on the coaching staff, Ivey has already spent 17 years as part of Notre Dame women’s basketball program. She’ll take the reins after spending a season working for the Memphis Grizzlies as an assistant coach. The school will hold an introductory press conference for her on Thursday.
“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.”
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.
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