Irish Coaching Staff Under head coach Muffet McGraw, Notre Dame has averaged 25 wins per year since joining the BIG EAST Conference in 1995-96. Head Coach Muffet McGraw Some might assume that when the Head Coach University of Notre Dame won its first NCAA championship in 2001, Muffet 18th Season McGraw would take time to bask in the 384-149 (.720) glow of her team’s accomplishment. However, in the eyes of the veteran Irish head coach, it was only the beginning. 23rd Season Overall "When you finally reach your ultimate goal, 472-190 (.713) you have to enjoy the moment, and then get back to work preparing to do it again," McGraw says. Saint Joseph’s (Pa.) ‘77 "Without a doubt, we were ecstatic to win the national championship in 2001. It satisfied a goal our program had been aiming for since I came to Notre Dame 17 years ago. "But, with that achievement comes a new level of expectation from everyone associated with our program," she continues. "We have been to the mountaintop and we know what it takes to get there. Now, we expect to be a regu- lar contender on the national level when March and April roll around." The architect of Notre Dame’s rise to promi- nence, McGraw has shown no signs of slowing down any time soon. In July 2002, the veteran head coach signed a five-year contract exten- sion which will keep her patrolling the Irish sidelines through the 2008-09 campaign. Her first 17 seasons at Notre Dame have been high- lighted by 15 20-win campaigns (including a cur- rent string of 11 straight), 11 NCAA tournament appearances (including a current streak of nine straight), six Sweet Sixteen berths, two trips to the Final Four and the 2001 NCAA title. To put those numbers in perspective, Notre Dame is one of only six programs in the country to have posted 11 consecutive 20-win seasons, while the Irish are one of just five teams in the nation to advance to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen six times in the last eight years. When com- bined, McGraw is one of only three coaches in America who can boast two current streaks of • • • milestone moments for McGraw in more ways that caliber, joining Connecticut’s Geno McGraw’s latest assault on college basket- than one. On March 23, the Irish downed No. 22 Auriemma and Tennessee’s Pat Summitt in that ball’s summit began the moment she and her Arizona, 59-47 in the first round of the NCAA elite group. team returned from St. Louis after winning the Tournament, handing McGraw her 450th career "Quite simply, we believe we have the best 2001 national championship. coaching victory. Two nights later, her Notre coach in women’s college basketball right here In 2001-02, after losing three starters and five Dame squad ousted eighth-ranked Kansas at Notre Dame in Muffet McGraw," says Notre monogram winners from that NCAA title-win- State, 59-53, snapping the Wildcats’ 22-game Dame athletics director Kevin White. ning squad, and adding six untested freshmen homecourt winning streak and stunning the "She is a great fit for Notre Dame, and she has to the mix, McGraw purple-clad capacity taken us where we want to go in the women’s deftly guided a youth- crowd in the process. It basketball world. The NCAA title in ’01, the ful Irish team to a 20-10 “There are many more great days ahead was the 500th game of ongoing successes we’ve had in the postseason record and a spot in the for our women’s basketball program, McGraw’s coaching and her recruiting efforts overall have cemented second round of the and I’m very pleased to know that career, another mile- Notre Dame’s position as one of the elite pro- NCAA Tournament. Muffet McGraw will continue to lead stone she won't soon grams in the country. There are many more great Notre Dame also us in the right direction.” -- Kevin White forget. days ahead for our women’s basketball pro- extended its home win- This past season, the gram, and I’m very pleased to know that Muffet ning streak to a school- veteran Notre Dame will continue to lead us in the right direction." record 51 games — at the time, it was the mentor skillfully guided her team to another 21- "I’ve been truly blessed to have had the oppor- 10th-longest string in NCAA history. 11 record and a second consecutive berth in the tunity to coach at the University of Notre Dame," One year later, she led an Irish club that had NCAA Sweet Sixteen (also the fourth for the Irish McGraw notes. "I couldn’t be happier right now. just two seniors on its injury-decimated 11- in the past five years). McGraw’s troops also I love Notre Dame and I have the best job in the player roster to a 21-11 record and a berth in the placed second in the BIG EAST Conference, their world." NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Notre Dame was ranked eighth top-two finish since joining the league as high as eighth in the country during the year nine years ago. In addition, the Irish went 15-0 at and posted three victories over Top 25 opponents home, their third perfect record at the Joyce during the campaign. However, the most signifi- Center in the last five years, and extended their cant victories of the season also turned out to be overall home win streak to 20 games, the sec- UNIVERSITY OF NOTRE DAME 50 Head Coach among the national leaders in scoring defense (39th, 58.5), blocked shots (46th, 4.2) and field goal percentage defense (49th, .379). “I’m pleased, but not at all satisfied with our performance over the past three seasons,” McGraw commented. “Certainly every year, we expect to be not just a participant, but a major player in the NCAA Tournament. It’s our goal every year to play for the national championship and I firmly believe this program is pointed in that direction.” • • • Under McGraw’s guidance, the last nine years have been the most successful in the program’s history as the Irish have compiled an impressive 225-69 (.765) record, including a sparkling 124-28 (.816) regular-season mark in BIG EAST play, the best winning percentage in league history. Notre Dame also has won at least 20 games each year during that span, averaging 25 victories per campaign with two 30-win seasons to its credit. In addition, the Irish have won at least one NCAA Tournament game every season over that ond-longest in school history and eighth-longest umph over No. 4 Connecticut in mid-January. time, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen on six active string in the nation heading into the 2004- During her 17 seasons with the Irish, McGraw occasions (1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004), the 05 campaign. has compiled an amazing 40 victories over Final Four twice (1997, 2001) and winning their Furthermore, McGraw has continued to nationally-ranked opponents, including 30 in first national championship three years ago. enhance her reputation as one of college bas- the past six seasons (an average of five per • • • ketball’s outstanding “big-game” coaches and year). To be sure, the night of April 1, 2001 is one tacticians, piloting Notre Dame to a school- Throughout her tenure at Notre Dame, McGraw and the Irish faithful will never forget. record seven wins over Top 25 teams during the McGraw has emphasized defense and the 2003- On that memorable Sunday evening in St. Louis, ’03-04 regular season, highlighted by a 66-51 tri- 04 season was no exception, as the Irish ranked Notre Dame defeated Purdue 68-66 as McGraw’s Muffet McGraw’s Coaching History Year School Record Pct. Honors 1982-83 Lehigh 14-9 .609 East Coast Conference Coach of the Year 1983-84 Lehigh 13-9 .591 1984-85 Lehigh 20-8 .714 1985-86 Lehigh 24-4 .857 East Coast Conference Champion 1986-87 Lehigh 17-11 .607 5-year Lehigh total 88-41 .683 1987-88 Notre Dame 20-8 .714 North Star Conference Coach of the Year 1988-89 Notre Dame 21-11 .656 MCC Regular Season/Tournament Champion, NWIT Tournament 1989-90 Notre Dame 23-6 .793 MCC Regular Season/Tournament Champion 1990-91 Notre Dame 23-9 .719 MCC Regular Season/Tournament Champion, NWIT Tournament, MCC Coach of the Year 1991-92 Notre Dame 14-17 .451 MCC Tournament Champion, NCAA First Round 1992-93 Notre Dame 15-12 .556 1993-94 Notre Dame 22-7 .786 MCC Regular Season/Tournament Champion, NCAA First Round 1994-95 Notre Dame 21-10 .677 MCC Regular Season Champion, NWIT Tournament 1995-96 Notre Dame 23-8 .742 NCAA Second Round, WBCA District II Coach of the Year 1996-97 Notre Dame 31-7 .816 NCAA Final Four, East Regional Champion 1997-98 Notre Dame 22-10 .688 NCAA Sweet Sixteen 1998-99 Notre Dame 26-5 .839 NCAA Second Round 1999-2000 Notre Dame 27-5 .844 NCAA Sweet Sixteen 2000-01 Notre Dame 34-2 .945 NCAA NATIONAL CHAMPION, BIG EAST Regular-Season Co-Champion, Naismith Coach of the Year, Associated Press Coach of the Year, WBCA National Coach of the Year, WBCA District I Coach of the Year, BIG EAST Coach of the Year 2001-02 Notre Dame 20-10 .667 NCAA Second Round 2002-03 Notre Dame 21-11 .656 NCAA Sweet Sixteen 2003-04 Notre Dame 21-11 .656 NCAA Sweet Sixteen 17-year Notre Dame total 384-149 .720 11 NCAA Tournaments, 14 Postseason Appearances 22-year career total 472-190 .713 2004-05 WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 51 Head In addition, the New York Coach Athletic Club honored McGraw with the 2001 Winged Foot Award, which is presented annually to the coach of the NCAA champion.