Bo Ryan’s coaching career is coming to an end. In a brief statement released by Wisconsin basketball today, the Badgers’ coach announced that he will retire after the 2015-16 season, which will be his 15th year at the helm in Madison.
Statement from #Badgers head coach Bo Ryan pic.twitter.com/pVSeO5eATC
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) June 29, 2015
Ryan’s first coaching job at the collegiate level came as an assistant coach with the Badgers under Bill Cofield in 1976. He remained with the program in that role for nearly a decade before becoming head coach at Division-III Wisconsin-Platteville in 1984. During his 15 years with the Pioneers, Ryan accrued an unreal 353-76 record and won D-III National Championships in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999. The Pioneers also went undefeated twice under Ryan, and his teams lost a total of eight games during his final five seasons with the program.
The Chester, Pennsylvania, native made the jump to D-I in 1999, when he became head coach with the University of Milwaukee. After two mildly-successful seasons with the Panthers, he became head coach of Wisconsin, and he has since earned a spot among the top coaches in college basketball. The Badgers have won the Big Ten regular season or tournament title seven times under Ryan, have made the NCAA Tournament every year he’s been at the helm, and have made each of the last two Final Fours, with the team reaching the national championship game last year. Wisconsin has won more games under Ryan that it has under any other coach in school history, as he holds a 357-125 mark with the Badgers.
There is no word on who will be Ryan’s successor, but he said he hopes his longtime assistant Greg Gard takes over the role. Gard has been an assistant under Ryan since 1993.
