Reclamation will currently be in the hands of Niele Ivey, as Notre Dame women’s basketball lead trainer Muffet McGraw on Wednesday reported she’ll leave a promising modify in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic and resign.
A 4:30 p.m. EDT media video chat with McGraw and athletic executive Jack Swarbrick has been scheduled.
The 42-year-old Ivey, a previous Irish All-America point watchman and assistant coach both under McGraw, comes back to Notre Dame from the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies. Last summer she turned into the NBA’s ninth lady coach when she turned into an assistant for the Grizzlies.
“I am thrilled Niele will be the next leader of the Notre Dame basketball program,” McGraw said. “She’s one of the best young coaches in the game today, and her success with the Grizzlies has helped make her even more prepared for her new role.
“What sets Niele apart is her ability to connect with all generations — alums, her current team, and future student-athletes. She will be a fantastic role model and a leader in the women’s empowerment movement, and she will represent Notre Dame in a way that will make our fans proud.”
The 13-18 record last season — with a 67-65 loss to a 5-26 Pittsburgh group in what turns out to be her last game in 33 seasons at ND — however, becomes the last section for McGraw, yet scarcely a characterizing one.
What will characterize the 2017 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee are two national championships (2001 and 2018), nine Final Fours, four Associated Press Coach of the Year awards, and instructing tree with the span and effect of a sequoia, and a culture that makes a bob back season in 2020-21 a probability.
The last equalization in the record book for the 64-year-old Westchester, Pa., local is 848-253 at Notre Dame, 935-263 when you add on her first five seasons as a school lead trainer, at Lehigh.
Ivey was a piece of every one of the nine of the program’s Final Four appearances, two as a player and seven as an assistant mentor. She has spent 17 seasons on Notre Dame’s campus consolidated as a mentor and player.
“I am so honored to be able to follow in the legacy that coach McGraw built here at Notre Dame,” Ivey said in a statement. “My love and appreciation for coach McGraw is beyond anything I can express. She’s more than a mentor, more than a friend, she’s one of the most influential people in my life.
“I am full of gratitude for coach McGraw and what she has done for me. She was the first to give me an opportunity to play for Notre Dame and coach here as well. I will forever be grateful for her love and support. I would also like to thank Jack Swarbrick and (ND president) Father (John) Jenkins for having the faith to move this program forward with me. I can never thank you enough for this incredible opportunity.”
