Statement from UConn coach Geno Auriemma regarding Debbie Ryan
Before UConn head coach Geno Auriemma arrived in Connecticut he served as an assistant to longtime Virginia coach Debbie Ryan for four years. Saturday, UVa announced that Ryan was stepping down from the helm of the team after 34 years. Auriemma released a statement about Ryan’s decision to resign.
"I was as shocked as anyone when I heard the news. Debbie has been one of the most influential people in my life. Without the opportunity that she gave me and the support I received at the University of Virginia, my life would be totally different than it is today. She will be missed by all her players, present and former, but most importantly, the game will miss her."
Ryan amassed 736 victories in her time as head coach. Only eight other active Division I women’s basketball coaches have reached the 700-win mark.
Her resignation is effective at the end of the season. The Cavaliers played in the NCAA Tournament 24 times under her and made three consecutive Final Four appearances from 1990-92.
This season the team is 16-15 and not expected to make the NCAA tournament field. However, Virginia is hosting first- and second-round games.
3 Comments
wow i did not geno was a assiant coach thats dope. forshure the game will miss her. much love.
Dawn Staley will succeed her? She is quietly climbing the ladder of the SEC. Debbie was Geno's mentor and Dawn's HC.
I agree with Auriemma, IMO the greatest NCAA WBB HC, Debbie Ryan is a true impact pioneer of the game. I did not know that GA was her understudy, in the past.
I bid her farewell and very best from Baton Rouge. Merriam Webster should have a photo of Debbie Ryan, next to the words: CLASS…………….INTEGRITY………….STABILITY…………..PROFESSIONAL…………..IMPACT……………..COMPETENT!!
Tell me if I left out an apt descriptive adjective. From a distance, I always admired her success at UVA. She did it before it was cool and sustained it as others navigated in the current "seas of contemporary WBB." Godspeed to Debbie Ryan. Legend
Dawn Staley's Gamecocks just got knocked out of the second round of the WNIT by Karen Aston's Charlotte 49ers.
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