Just two years removed from the euphoria of winning a national championship, Muffet McGraw knew it was time.
Time to relax a bit. Time to do something else. And time, hopefully, to watch her young team climb back up the women’s college basketball rankings under someone else’s guidance on the rock-solid foundation she built the past three decades as coach at Notre Dame.
The 2017 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee retired Wednesday with a résumé that includes two national championships in 33 seasons with the Fighting Irish, a surprising decision to many of the countless players and coaches she has influenced on and off the court as a mentor and advocate for women.
“I am proud of what we have accomplished, and I can turn the page to the next chapter in my life with no regrets, knowing that I gave it my best every day,” said McGraw, 64, who was The Associated Press women’s basketball coach of the year four times.
She said she and Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick have had an annual conversation the past few years about whether she would be back. She felt this, at last, was the right time to step away.