Bo Ryan announced his retirement effective immediately following Wisconsin’s win over Texas A&M Corpus Corpus Christi on Tuesday night.
Ryan, 67, said in a statement that he approached athletic director Barry Alvarez in April about retirement. Alvarez asked him to wait and think about the decision. Ryan said after Tuesday’s 64-49 win that he decided now was the right time to step down.
“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 via Wisconsin.
“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.”
Gard is an associate head coach, and he will take over as the interim head coach.
Ryan has been the most successful coach in Badgers basketball history. The coach at Wisconsin since 2001, he led the program to seven Big Ten championships, 14 consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, seven Sweet 16s, three Elite Eights, two Final Fours and the 2015 national championship game. He has won four Big Ten Coach of the Year honors.
Ryan’s Badgers upset Kentucky in the tournament last season, handing the Wildcats their only loss of the year. They then had a very good chance to win the national championship but lost to Duke, a defeat that may have crushed Ryan’s spirit. Rather than try to rebuild — the team is currently 7-5 — Ryan probably decided that last season was his best shot at a title and it was a good time to step away.
