When Niele Ivey found out she was the new head coach of the Notre Dame women’s basketball team in April 2020, the first thing she did was check in with her former coach, mentor and friend, Muffet McGraw. “I was like, Are you really done? Are you retired? Like, you're good?” Ivey says. “I was more concerned about her. I wanted to make sure that she was comfortable.” On the phone that day, McGraw reassured Ivey that yes, after 33 years at the helm for the Fighting Irish, she was indeed retiring.
The news came as a shock to basketball fans around the country, but McGraw had contemplated the decision for years.