Back in mid-December when Bo Ryan stepped down and Greg Gard was named Wisconsin’s interim head coach, Athletic Director Barry Alvarez expressed his intention to hold a nationwide search for a permanent head coach once the season ended.
Ultimately, that wasn’t necessary, as he never had to look outside of Madison to find Ryan’s long-term successor.
Gard was officially named UW’s permanent head coach Monday night after the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents approved his contract. Gard has served as interim coach since Ryan stepped down on Dec. 15. At the time, the Badgers were just 7-5, and they got off to a 2-4 start under Gard.
However, since that rocky start, Gard and the Badgers have orchestrated a remarkable turnaround that has seen them extend their streak of top-four finishes in the Big Ten standings to 15 straight years while also essentially locking up an 18th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
“It's an honor and a privilege to be named the head coach at the University of Wisconsin,” Gard said in a statement. “I'm extremely thankful to Coach Alvarez, the Athletic Board and the Board of Regents for this incredible opportunity to lead my home-state program into the future. It's a role and a responsibility that I cherish and take extremely seriously. It's been a long journey over the last quarter-century or so, but for me to be able to spend my entire career in this state and be surrounded by such incredible support has been vital to my success. I am so grateful to everyone who has played an integral part in my development.”
After taking over for Ryan, Gard decided to re-implement the swing offense that his mentor had used for years and increased Wisconsin’s use of its bench players, moves that have paid major dividends for the Badgers.
Since its 1-4 start in Big Ten play, UW has won 11 of its last 13 games, including victories over No. 4 Michigan State and No. 19 Indiana, along with road wins over No. 2 Maryland and No. 8 Iowa. Its only two losses over this stretch came on the road against Michigan State and Purdue, who were ranked No. 8 and No. 15, respectively, at the time.
As the Badgers continued to pick up win after win and continued their march toward another NCAA Tournament berth, the question was no longer whether or not Gard would get the permanent gig, but rather a matter of when it would happen.
And on Monday night, he finally got the "interim" tag next to his name removed.
“As I said many times throughout the past weeks, I've been very impressed with the job Greg has done with this team. Not just from a wins and losses perspective but also in terms of player development and making necessary adjustments,” Alvarez said in a statement. “It became clear to me as the season wore on and I was able to observe Greg both on and off the court that he was the right person to lead our men's basketball team. I was extremely excited to be able to offer him the job and fully believe that the program is in good hands for years to come.”
Under Gard, the Badgers have gone 13-6, including a 12-6 mark in Big Ten play. It’s their seventh straight season of having won at least 12 conference games.
Prior to becoming head coach, the Cobb, Wis., native had spent 23 years as an assistant under Ryan. He served on Ryan’s staff at UW-Platteville from 1993 to 1999 and followed him to UW-Milwaukee from 1999 to 2001. When Ryan came to Madison, he brought Gard along as his associate head coach.
Since first announcing his intentions to retire back in June of last year, Ryan made it clear that he wanted Gard to succeed him as head coach. His sudden mid-season retirement gave his longtime assistant a chance to prove that he deserved the job.
Ryan’s gamble paid off, as Gard will now take the reins of the program for the foreseeable future.
“I am thankful to Coach Ryan for the opportunity he gave me to be a college coach over 25 years ago. He has been a positive mentor in the professional development of my career and showed great confidence in my abilities and potential as I grew as a young coach,” Gard said. “I'm looking forward to building on the great tradition at Wisconsin and representing my home state in a manner that can make Badgers fans proud.”
