BREAKING | Muffet McGraw Announces Retirement

A Hall of Fame career is over as Notre Dame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw announced her retirement on Wednesday.

“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 released by the University.

“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 reached nine Final Fours and won two national championships for the Irish, in both 2001 and 2018. She won 842 games at Notre Dame and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017, the 13th female coach to receive such an honor.

In his statement released by Notre Dame, Swarbrick pointed to the impact McGraw made beyond the victories.

“It is inevitable and appropriate that as we mark Muffet’s retirement from coaching today, much of the focus will be on the remarkable record of competitive success that makes her a Hall of Fame coach,” Swarbrick stated.

“But my reflections go more to her as an educator, friend, and role model. Every time I had the privilege of stepping into her classroom, be it at practice or courtside during a game, I was struck by how much she cared about her students and how important it was for her to use basketball as a vehicle to help develop future leaders.”

Former assistant Niele Ivey will return to Notre Dame to take over for McGraw after a year with the Memphis Grizzles.

A press conference will be held later this afternoon.

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