Daybreak Has Come: Bo Ryan to Retire in 2016

By Hashim R. Hathaway | Jun 29, 2015

Bo Ryan, Head Coach of the Wisconsin Badgers, announces his retirement following the 2015-16 season, putting a cap on a career that spans 30 years

The sun is coming up for Count Dracula.

Since 2001, Bo Ryan stalked the sidelines for the Wisconsin Badgers, doing so with a deadly ability to crush opponents, not only in the Big Ten, but nationwide. Amassing an impressive 357–125 record as a Badger, with five Big Ten championships (regular season and tournament) and back-to-back appearances in the Final Four, Ryan never finished with worse than a Second Round finish in the NCAA tournament.

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And now he’s calling it quits, on his own terms.

On Monday, Ryan, 67, announced that the 2015-16 season would be his last as the head coach of the Badgers, with the hope that his assistant Greg Card would succeed him at the helm once he’s gone. For Ryan, whose Big Ten record at 172–68 is just as impressive as his overall record, certainly deserves a voice in who replaces him, especially if that who is someone who’s been a part of one of the most consistently successful programs in the nation.

"“I’ve decided to coach one more season with the hope that my longtime assistant Greg Gard eventually becomes the head coach at Wisconsin. I am looking forward to another year with our program, including our players, my terrific assistant coaches, our office staff and everyone who supports Wisconsin basketball here in Madison, around the state and across the country.” – Bo Ryan (From today’s statement)"

Ryan’s no-nonsense approach to the game of basketball won him many fans and enemies, particularly in places such as Bloomington and Champaign, where Ryan consistently dominated by teaching his players fundamental skills and instilling in them a never-say-die attitude that paid off for the program.

Where some players in other programs looked ahead to the NBA, players generally stuck around for Bo. For example, 2015 Player of the Year (in every possible category) Frank Kaminsky chose to stick around all four years to play for Ryan.

While Ryan’s decision to leave is baffling, according to the ESPN report, it has nothing to do with his health. Coaching is a daunting task, and it takes a lot out of tough men everywhere, so to see a coach make the decision to leave on their own accord is both rare and a testament to what it really takes to succeed and be able to walk away when the time is right.

Bo succeeded at just about every level, with four NCAA D-III championships at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Big Ten Championships and even toppling the undefeated juggernaut that was the 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats, before falling in this year’s National Championship game to Duke.

After losing Kaminsky and Sam Dekker to the NBA, it’s hard to say what shape the Badgers will be in, or how far they’ll make it this season, but it’s safe to say that with one year left, Bo Ryan will swoop in and suck the will to win out of most of his opponents before heading off into the sunset.

Love him or hate him, Ryan is the coach you want when it matters, so even for his opponents seeing him do what he does best one last season will be nothing short of bittersweet.

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