 Ryan in 2017 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1947-12-20)December 20, 1947 (age 78) Chester, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1965–1969 | Wilkes |
| Position | Point guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1972–1973 | Brookhaven JHS |
| 1973–1974 | Dominican College of Racine (assistant) |
| 1974–1976 | Sun Valley HS |
| 1976–1984 | Wisconsin (assistant) |
| 1984–1999 | Wisconsin–Platteville |
| 1999–2001 | Milwaukee |
| 2001–2015 | Wisconsin |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 747–233 (college) |
| Tournaments | 25–14 (NCAA Division I) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 4NCAA Division III tournament (1991,1995,1998,1999) 2NCAA Division I Regional—Final Four (2014,2015) 3Big Ten tournament (2004,2008,2015) 4Big Ten regular season (2002, 2003, 2008, 2015) | |
| Awards | |
| Clair Bee Coach of the Year (2007) 4×Big Ten Coach of the Year (2002, 2003, 2013, 2015) Jim Phelan Award (2008) Adolph Rupp Cup (2007) | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2024 (profile) | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2017 | |
William Francis "Bo"Ryan Jr. (born December 20, 1947) is an American formercollege basketball coach. He was the head coach of theWisconsin Badgers men's basketball team of theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison from 2001 to December 2015. Ryan served as the head men's basketball coach at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Platteville from 1984 to 1999 and at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee from 1999 to 2001. His overall collegiate coaching record was 747–233. Ryan was inducted into theCollege Basketball Hall of Fame in 2017 and theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
Ryan began playing basketball at a very young age. His father, Butch Ryan was already a legend in the area, coaching youth sports including basketball to under-privileged children inChester, Pennsylvania. Butch taught him the skills to be a successfulpoint guard, generally the position of the on-court team leader. He became a star basketball player, leading his high school team to a 25–1 record in his senior year. In addition to basketball, Ryan was a high schoolquarterback. Thecenter snapping him the ball wasTed Cottrell, who later served as a defensive coach and coordinator for a number of teams in theNFL. Ryan lettered infootball, basketball andbaseball, and was president of his class. After high school, Ryan starred as a point guard atWilkes College inWilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. His love for the game drove him to remain involved with the sport, choosing to delve into the coaching profession.[1]
After a playing career atWilkes University, Ryan graduated in 1969, and began graduate work, attendingVillanova University inVillanova, Pennsylvania.
Ryan's coaching career began in 1972 at Brookhaven Junior High School inDelaware County, Pennsylvania, where for one year he worked as a history teacher and basketball head coach.[1]
In 1973, Ryan began his collegiate coaching career atDominican College of Racine inRacine, Wisconsin. He won a Coach of the Year award as head baseball coach at Dominican while serving as an assistant basketball coach underBill Cofield.[2] In 1974, Dominican College closed down. Ryan then became head basketball coach at Sun Valley High School inAston, Pennsylvania in 1974, where he was named conference coach of the year in 1976.[1]
His success at Dominic College and Sun Valley led to a job as assistant head coach at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Madison under head coachesBill Cofield andSteve Yoder from 1976 to 1984.[1]
After his stint as an assistant, Ryan accepted the head coaching position at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Platteville. From 1984 until 1999, Ryan's Platteville team posted a 352–76 overall record, an .820 winning percentage. Ryan guided the UW–Platteville Pioneers to four national championships (1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999). He also won eightWisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championships and set a Division III scoring defense record in 1997, with his team only allowing 47.5 points per game.[1]
During Ryan's tenure, UW-Platteville was the winningest NCAA men's basketball team of the 1990s (all divisions) with a 266–26 (.908) record.[1]
On January 27, 2007, UW-Platteville officially honored Ryan's 15-year tenure by naming the playing surface atWilliams Fieldhouse "Bo Ryan Court". Ryan, along with the 2007 Wisconsin Badgers team, attended the event.
On the strength of his success at Platteville, Ryan was hired as head coach at theUniversity of Wisconsin–Milwaukee for the 1999–2000 season. In his two seasons as coach, the team had its first back-to-back winning seasons in nearly a decade.[3] Ryan also brought a 161 percent increase in home attendance at UWM, giving the program a new energy that continued into the tenure of his successorBruce Pearl.[1]
Following the Badgers' 2000Final Four run, head coachDick Bennett retired two games into the 2000–01 season. Assistant coachBrad Soderberg finished the season as interim head coach, but was not considered for the full-time job. The coaching search began to concentrate onRick Majerus of theUniversity of Utah (who was aMilwaukee native) and Bo Ryan. After Majerus pulled his name out of consideration, UW athletic directorPat Richter made the decision to hire Ryan as Wisconsin's 13th head coach.
Ryan's first season was much more successful than anticipated. The team was predicted to finish as low as ninth in theBig Ten in pre-season polls. The team, led byKirk Penney, surprisingly finished in a four-way tie for the Big Ten regular-season title and received an invitation to theNCAA tournament. In the 2002–03 season, the Badgers won their first outright Big Ten regular season title in 56 years and advanced to the "Sweet Sixteen" in the NCAA Tournament. The Badgers won the Big Ten tournament Championship in 2004, led byDevin Harris, and once again received an NCAA Tournament invitation. In the 2004–05 season, Wisconsin advanced to the "Elite Eight" in the NCAA Tournament, losing to the eventual national championNorth Carolina Tar Heels.[4] On December 10, 2005, Ryan recorded his 100th victory as Wisconsin head coach by defeating in-state rivalMarquette.[5]
In the 2006–07 season, Ryan led the Badgers to the pinnacle of college basketball, helping them achieve their first top-five ranking and #1 ranking in theAP poll in the school's history. However, the Badgers' time atop the poll was short-lived as they lost their next game, againstMichigan State before losing toOhio State in a #1 vs. #2 matchup.[6][7] The Wisconsin–Ohio State game on February 25, 2007, featured two teams ranked #1 in that week's national polls, with Ohio State securing the top ranking in theCoaches' Poll and clinching the regular season Big Ten title.[8] The following week they rebounded with a 52–50 win at home over Michigan State and again defeated Michigan State in the Big Ten tournament, before losing the Big Ten tournament championship game to Ohio State. In 2007, Ryan was named the winner of theClair Bee Coach of the Year Award. A year later, the Badgers notched their most wins ever in Big Ten play (16) en route to a school-record 31 wins.[1]
On December 12, 2009, Ryan recorded his 200th victory as Wisconsin head coach by defeating in-state rivalMarquette, 72–63 at theKohl Center.[9]
On January 24, 2010, Ryan recorded his 100thBig Ten Conference victory by defeatingPenn State, 79–71 at the Kohl Center.[10] With that victory, Ryan became the 2nd fastest coach to reach that milestone, tying Ryan withBranch McCracken who both needed 140 games to reach the 100th conference victory.[10] The only coach to reach the 100th conference win faster wasBob Knight, who only needed 131 games.[10]
On March 9, 2012, in the2012 Big Ten Conference men's basketball tournament quarterfinals the Badgers defeated theHoosiers, giving Ryan his 266th win at Wisconsin and vaulting him pastBud Foster to become the winningest coach in school history.[11]
On December 4, 2013, Ryan won his 300th game at Wisconsin during a 48–38 victory overVirginia becoming only the ninth Big Ten head coach to win 300 games.[12]
On March 14, 2014, Ryan got the 700th victory of his head-coaching career during an 83–57 win overMinnesota in the2014 Big Ten tournament. On March 29, 2014, during the2014 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, Ryan reached his first Division I Final Four with a 64–63 overtime win overArizona.[13]
On January 8, 2015, the Badgers defeatedPurdue 62–55 giving Ryan his 159th Big Ten victory, passingWalter Meanwell for most Big Ten conference victories in UW history.[14]
On February 14, 2015, Ryan was named a finalist to be considered for election in the Class of 2015 for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.[15]
On April 6, 2015, after losing the2015 NCAA Championship game to Duke 68–63, Ryan's immediate post game interview with CBS' Tracy Wolfson implied that the officiating was the reason for his team's loss.[16][17] For the game, Duke was called for 13 fouls while the Badgers were called for 15.
Ryan has written three books:Bo Ryan: Another Hill to Climb,The Swing Offense, andPassing and Catching: the Lost Art. He led the Badgers to the NCAA Tournament in each of his 14 full seasons at Wisconsin; the team had only been to a total of seven NCAA Tournaments before Ryan's arrival (three of them under Bennett). He also owns all four of Wisconsin's 30-win seasons.
He coached the Badgers to the NCAA Final Four two years in a row, falling to Kentucky, 74–73, in the 2014 semifinals inArlington, Texas, and to Duke, 68–63, in the championship game on April 6, 2015, in Indianapolis.
On June 29, 2015, Ryan announced that he would retire after the2015–16 season, naming associate head coachGreg Gard, who had been on Ryan's staff at both UW-Platteville and Milwaukee, as his preferred successor.[18][19] A month and a half later, Ryan announced he was "not totally sure" whether or not he would retire.[20] On December 15, 2015, Ryan announced his retirement after a win againstTexas A&M–Corpus Christi, effective immediately, and Gard took over for the rest of the season.[21]
Ryan and his wife, Kelly, have five children: Megan,Will, Matt, Brenna and Mairin. Ryan also has 10 grandchildren: Aoife, Imogen, Maeve, Owen, Liam, Callen, Roen, Remi, Finn and Ryan.
Shortly after the Badgers' loss in the 2015 NCAA title game, there was speculation Ryan would retire when he and his wife put their home inMadison up for sale. At a charity fundraiser, he explained that they had chosen to downsize now that their children were all adults and out of the house, and had bought acondo near the Badgers' home of theKohl Center. The house was ultimately purchased by newWisconsin football head coachPaul Chryst.[22]
In 2016, Ryan admitted to having an affair with a massage therapist. An investigation ensued concerning whether Ryan improperly used school resources during the course of the tryst. He was eventually cleared.[23]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wisconsin–Platteville Pioneers(Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference)(1984–1999) | |||||||||
| 1984–85 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 9–17 | 4–12 | 7th | |||||
| 1985–86 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 16–11 | 8–8 | 5th | NAIA First Round | ||||
| 1986–87 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 14–11 | 6–10 | T–5th | |||||
| 1987–88 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 24–5 | 14–2 | 1st | NAIA Third Round | ||||
| 1988–89 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 24–5 | 13–3 | 3rd | NAIA Third Round | ||||
| 1989–90 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 26–3 | 15–1 | 1st | NAIA Third Round | ||||
| 1990–91 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 28–3 | 13–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division III Champion | ||||
| 1991–92 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 27–4 | 13–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division III Third Place | ||||
| 1992–93 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 24–4 | 13–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division III Elite Eight | ||||
| 1993–94 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 23–5 | 13–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division III Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1994–95 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 31–0 | 16–0 | 1st | NCAA Division III Champion | ||||
| 1995–96 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 23–3 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Division III First Round | ||||
| 1996–97 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 24–3 | 14–2 | 1st | NCAA Division III Second Round | ||||
| 1997–98 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 30–0 | 16–0 | 1st | NCAA Division III Champion | ||||
| 1998–99 | Wisconsin–Platteville | 30–2 | 15–1 | 1st | NCAA Division III Champion | ||||
| Wisconsin–Platteville: | 353–76 (.823) | 188–52 (.783) | |||||||
| Milwaukee Panthers(Horizon League)(1999–2001) | |||||||||
| 1999–00 | Milwaukee | 15–14 | 6–8 | T–4th | |||||
| 2000–01 | Milwaukee | 15–13 | 7–7 | 5th | |||||
| Milwaukee: | 30–27 (.526) | 13–15 (.464) | |||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers(Big Ten Conference)(2001–2015) | |||||||||
| 2001–02 | Wisconsin | 19–13 | 11–5 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2002–03 | Wisconsin | 24–8 | 12–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2003–04 | Wisconsin | 25–7 | 12–4 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2004–05 | Wisconsin | 25–9 | 11–5 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
| 2005–06 | Wisconsin | 19–12 | 9–7 | T–4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2006–07 | Wisconsin | 30–6 | 13–3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2007–08 | Wisconsin | 31–5 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2008–09 | Wisconsin | 20–13 | 10–8 | T–4th | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2009–10 | Wisconsin | 24–9 | 13–5 | 4th | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2010–11 | Wisconsin | 25–9 | 13–5 | 3rd | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2011–12 | Wisconsin | 26–10 | 12–6 | 4th | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 2012–13 | Wisconsin | 23–12 | 12–6 | T–4th | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2013–14 | Wisconsin | 30–8 | 12–6 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Final Four | ||||
| 2014–15 | Wisconsin | 36–4 | 16–2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Runner-up | ||||
| 2015–16 | Wisconsin | 7–5 | |||||||
| Wisconsin: | 364–130 (.737) | 172–68 (.717) | |||||||
| Total: | 747–233 (.762) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
