Wisconsin Badgers head coach Bo Ryan was supposed to have one more season, one more go around the Big Ten. However, even he backed off the steadfast date of the end of the 2015-16 season as the summer went on.
Instead, Bo Ryan pulled a Dick Bennett and surprised everyone with a mid-season retirement effective immediately. He made the announcement following the Badgers win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Tuesday night.
For Ryan, it wasn’t a rash decision but something months in the making.
“After months of conversation with Barry Alvarez and his administrative staff, as well as my wife, Kelly, I have decided that now is the right time to step down from the head coaching position here at Wisconsin,” Ryan said.
“This was a decision months in the making. I brought this up to Barry back in April. He advised me to take some time to think it over and I appreciated that. But in recent weeks, I have come to the conclusion that now is the right time for me to retire and for Greg Gard to have the opportunity to coach the team for the remainder of the season. I discussed this with Barry and I appreciate him giving me the space to make this decision.”
Greg Gard will take over the program as interim head coach, getting a chance to earn the job on a full-time basis with Big Ten play still to come.
Athletic Director Barry Alavrez had a statement ready for after the game.
“I want to thank Bo Ryan for everything he has done for our athletic department, the state of Wisconsin and certainly the Badgers basketball program,” UW Director of Athletics Barry Alvarez said. “He oversaw an incredible run of sustained success and helped elevate Wisconsin among the nation’s elite programs. He is truly a Hall of Fame coach and led our program to the most successful era in school history. He will be missed.”
Ryan will leave as the most decorated head coach in the modern era and outside of a national championship is the most successful coach in program history.
With 747 career wins, 19 championships and countless conference and national coach of the year accolades, there is little doubt that Ryan is among the great coaches in college basketball history.
In his 14 years atop the Wisconsin program, Ryan authored the most wins in school annals (364) and finished with a mark of 172-68 (.717) in Big Ten play, the highest winning percentage in conference history. With a career record of 747-233 (.762), Ryan finishes his career ranked 27th on the NCAA’s all-time wins list.
Ryan’s tenure as head coach at Wisconsin produced seven Big Ten championships, four Big Ten Coach of the Year honors, the 11 winningest seasons in UW history, 14 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, seven Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights, two Final Fours and the 2015 national championship game. In his final full season, Ryan guided the Badgers to a school-record 36 wins in 2014-15, one shy of the Big Ten single-season record.bo
The Bo Ryan Era at Wisconsin (2001-15)
• A .737 win pct. (364-130) overall
• A .717 win pct. (172-68) in Big Ten play
• A .906 win pct. (211-22) at home
• 7 Big Ten titles
• The 11 winningest seasons in UW history
• 6 players with AP All-America recognition
• 14 NCAA tournaments, 7 Sweet 16s, 3 Elite Eights, 2 Final Fours and 1 national championship game.
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