MADISON, Wis. – For the second straight year, former Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Bo Ryan has been named a finalist for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, as announced Friday at NBA All-Star Weekend.
Ryan is among 14 finalists named for consideration in the 2016 class, which will be announced on April 4 in Houston before the men’s NCAA championship game. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of 2016 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball, Sept. 8-10.
Ryan is one of seven previous finalists included again this year for consideration, joined by: the only coach in NCAA history to win 100 games at four different schools Charles “Lefty” Driesell, the all-time winningest high school coach Leta Andrews, the all-time winningest boys high school coach Robert Hughes, three-time NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson, three-time Consensus National College Coach of the Year Muffet McGraw and four-time National Coach of the Year Eddie Sutton.
This year’s list includes seven first-time finalists: 27-year NBA referee Darell Garretson, eleven-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson, two-time NABC Coach of the Year Tom Izzo, the first African-American coach in a professional league John McLendon, three-time NBA Finals MVP Shaquille O’Neal, four-time WNBA Champion Sheryl Swoopes and 10-time AAU National Champions Wayland Baptist University.
“To be nominated as a Finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “Each finalist in the Class of 2016 has had a distinct impact on the game we all love. Selecting the Enshrinees for the Class of 2016 will be a challenging task for the Honors Committee, but we look forward to making the announcement at the NCAA Final Four in April.”
Ryan spent 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach before retiring in December of 2015. He finished his career 26th on the NCAA’s all-time wins list with a record of 747-233 (.762), including a mark of 364-130 (.737) in 14-plus seasons at Wisconsin. Author of the most wins in UW annals, Ryan led the Badgers to seven Big Ten titles, back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015 and last year’s national championship game.
A native of Chester, Pennsylvania, Ryan was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year four times (2002, 2003, 2013, 2015) while coaching at Wisconsin. Prior to his time in Madison, he coached at UW-Milwaukee (1999-2000) and UW-Platteville (1984-1999), where his team won four NCAA Division III Championships (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999). Ryan led Wisconsin to four Big Ten regular season championships (2002, 2003, 2008, 2015), three Big Ten Tournament championships (2004, 2008, 2015), and the NCAA Final Four twice (2014, 2015). Ryan is a recipient of the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award (2007), NABC Outstanding Service Award (2009) and Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award (2013).
It was during his 15-year tenure at UW-Platteville that Ryan firmly established himself as one of the nation's top coaches. Ryan guided the Division III program to a phenomenal 353-76 (.822) overall record. In his final 12 seasons, the Pioneers won four national championships (1991, '95, '98, '99), were the winningest NCAA men's basketball team of the 1990s (all divisions) with a 266-26 (.908) record, won eight WIAC titles, compiled a 30-5 NCAA Division III tournament mark, and never won fewer than 23 games.
Before coming to Wisconsin, Ryan coached for two seasons at UW-Milwaukee. There, he coached the Panthers to their first back-to-back winning seasons in eight years. UWM also experienced a 161-percent home attendance increase in his first season.
Ryan's coaching career began in the fall of 1972 at Brookhaven High School in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where he was hired as a history teacher and head basketball coach. After just one year at Brookhaven, Ryan began his collegiate coaching career in 1973 at Dominican College of Racine (Wisconsin) as an assistant under Bill Cofield.
In 1974, Ryan moved back to the Philadelphia area to serve as the head basketball coach at Sun Valley High School. Ryan would move back to the collegiate coaching ranks for good in March of 1976 when Cofield again hired him as an assistant, this time at Wisconsin. Ryan spent eight seasons (1976-84) working under Cofield and Steve Yoder before taking over at UW-Platteville in the spring of 1984.
Ryan is among 14 finalists named for consideration in the 2016 class, which will be announced on April 4 in Houston before the men’s NCAA championship game. A finalist needs 18 of 24 votes from the Honors Committee for election into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Class of 2016 will be enshrined during festivities in Springfield, Massachusetts, the birthplace of basketball, Sept. 8-10.
Ryan is one of seven previous finalists included again this year for consideration, joined by: the only coach in NCAA history to win 100 games at four different schools Charles “Lefty” Driesell, the all-time winningest high school coach Leta Andrews, the all-time winningest boys high school coach Robert Hughes, three-time NBA All-Star Kevin Johnson, three-time Consensus National College Coach of the Year Muffet McGraw and four-time National Coach of the Year Eddie Sutton.
This year’s list includes seven first-time finalists: 27-year NBA referee Darell Garretson, eleven-time NBA All-Star Allen Iverson, two-time NABC Coach of the Year Tom Izzo, the first African-American coach in a professional league John McLendon, three-time NBA Finals MVP Shaquille O’Neal, four-time WNBA Champion Sheryl Swoopes and 10-time AAU National Champions Wayland Baptist University.
“To be nominated as a Finalist for the Basketball Hall of Fame is a tremendous accomplishment,” said Jerry Colangelo, Chairman of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. “Each finalist in the Class of 2016 has had a distinct impact on the game we all love. Selecting the Enshrinees for the Class of 2016 will be a challenging task for the Honors Committee, but we look forward to making the announcement at the NCAA Final Four in April.”
Ryan spent 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach before retiring in December of 2015. He finished his career 26th on the NCAA’s all-time wins list with a record of 747-233 (.762), including a mark of 364-130 (.737) in 14-plus seasons at Wisconsin. Author of the most wins in UW annals, Ryan led the Badgers to seven Big Ten titles, back-to-back Final Four appearances in 2014 and 2015 and last year’s national championship game.
A native of Chester, Pennsylvania, Ryan was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year four times (2002, 2003, 2013, 2015) while coaching at Wisconsin. Prior to his time in Madison, he coached at UW-Milwaukee (1999-2000) and UW-Platteville (1984-1999), where his team won four NCAA Division III Championships (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999). Ryan led Wisconsin to four Big Ten regular season championships (2002, 2003, 2008, 2015), three Big Ten Tournament championships (2004, 2008, 2015), and the NCAA Final Four twice (2014, 2015). Ryan is a recipient of the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award (2007), NABC Outstanding Service Award (2009) and Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award (2013).
It was during his 15-year tenure at UW-Platteville that Ryan firmly established himself as one of the nation's top coaches. Ryan guided the Division III program to a phenomenal 353-76 (.822) overall record. In his final 12 seasons, the Pioneers won four national championships (1991, '95, '98, '99), were the winningest NCAA men's basketball team of the 1990s (all divisions) with a 266-26 (.908) record, won eight WIAC titles, compiled a 30-5 NCAA Division III tournament mark, and never won fewer than 23 games.
Before coming to Wisconsin, Ryan coached for two seasons at UW-Milwaukee. There, he coached the Panthers to their first back-to-back winning seasons in eight years. UWM also experienced a 161-percent home attendance increase in his first season.
Ryan's coaching career began in the fall of 1972 at Brookhaven High School in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where he was hired as a history teacher and head basketball coach. After just one year at Brookhaven, Ryan began his collegiate coaching career in 1973 at Dominican College of Racine (Wisconsin) as an assistant under Bill Cofield.
In 1974, Ryan moved back to the Philadelphia area to serve as the head basketball coach at Sun Valley High School. Ryan would move back to the collegiate coaching ranks for good in March of 1976 when Cofield again hired him as an assistant, this time at Wisconsin. Ryan spent eight seasons (1976-84) working under Cofield and Steve Yoder before taking over at UW-Platteville in the spring of 1984.
