Coaches on Retirement Watch

[bballnut90]

A lot of the standout coaches in the sport are getting up there in age, take a look at some of the big names below:

Tara Vanderveer-70 years old. Stanford joins the ACC next year meaning a significant increase in travel. Stanford also projects to drop off next year in competitiveness with Brink graduating. I wouldn't be shocked if she retires after this year.

Geno Auriemma-69 years old. There is some speculation that Geno will retire once Fudd/Bueckers leave sometime between 2024-2026. He's still recruiting quite well despite numerous injuries and setbacks. On contract through 2026. Not going to make a prediction about when he hangs it up, but I think he'll stick around longer than Tara and nab of the all time wins record.

Bill Fennelly-66 years old. He has a monster freshman class and could compete for the Big 12 in coming years. On contract through 2027. I don't think he retires until that class finishes up.

Wes Moore-66 years old. He's putting together a heck of a season and will have a lot of talent coming back the next few years. On contract through 2025 (he might be the most underpaid coach in WCBB, apparently he only makes 750k which is crazy low for his results). Think he'll coach at least 1 more year.

Lisa Bluder-62 years old. Iowa is due for a massive drop off this year assuming Clark leaves along with Martin/Marshall. Signed a contract through 2029 though and fan support will still be massive next year even without Clark. Seems to be in the peak of her coaching career right now. I don't see her retiring for at least a few years.

Vic Schaefer-62 years old. On contract through 2027, Texas is recruiting extremely well and could be a major Final Four threat in the coming seasons. I don't see him retiring for a while.

Kim Mulkey-61 years old. She just signed a $32 million dollar contract, I don't see her retiring anytime soon.

Kelly Graves-61 years old. He's probably getting fired after this year. Not sure if he plans to test waters elsewhere or call it quits after a very strong career.

 

[undersized]

Joe McKeown, age 67, recently became the winningest coach in Northwestern program history. Despite that he's in the midst of a couple of verrry rough seasons. Lately has missed 5 games due to an illness. Think he might be hospitalized? I'd add him to the list.

Fan speculation is that Bluder wants to get to 1,000 career wins. She'll likely be around 880 after this season. Estimate of 20 wins per season means 6 more years? It's not unrealistic.

 

[MSSportsGuy]

A lot of the standout coaches in the sport are getting up there in age, take a look at some of the big names below:

Tara Vanderveer-70 years old. Stanford joins the ACC next year meaning a significant increase in travel. Stanford also projects to drop off next year in I competitiveness with Brink graduating. I wouldn't be shocked if she retires after this year.

I could see Tara leaving sooner than later. She will have the record for wins, face increased travel in a new conference, and also she is now facing the reality of many other coaches where players will leave over PT or NIL opportunities. She lost several from last year besides Betts despite the appeal of the Stanford degree.

Health is an unknown commodity for many as we age and I know I feel very different at 51 than at even 41 and have a job that is far less demanding than head coach of a major D1 program.

 

[JellyBean]

A lot of the standout coaches in the sport are getting up there in age, take a look at some of the big names below:

Tara Vanderveer-70 years old. Stanford joins the ACC next year meaning a significant increase in travel. Stanford also projects to drop off next year in competitiveness with Brink graduating. I wouldn't be shocked if she retires after this year.

Geno Auriemma-69 years old. There is some speculation that Geno will retire once Fudd/Bueckers leave sometime between 2024-2026. He's still recruiting quite well despite numerous injuries and setbacks. On contract through 2026. Not going to make a prediction about when he hangs it up, but I think he'll stick around longer than Tara and nab of the all time wins record.

Bill Fennelly-66 years old. He has a monster freshman class and could compete for the Big 12 in coming years. On contract through 2027. I don't think he retires until that class finishes up.

Wes Moore-66 years old. He's putting together a heck of a season and will have a lot of talent coming back the next few years. On contract through 2025 (he might be the most underpaid coach in WCBB, apparently he only makes 750k which is crazy low for his results). Think he'll coach at least 1 more year.

Lisa Bluder-62 years old. Iowa is due for a massive drop off this year assuming Clark leaves along with Martin/Marshall. Signed a contract through 2029 though and fan support will still be massive next year even without Clark. Seems to be in the peak of her coaching career right now. I don't see her retiring for at least a few years.

Vic Schaefer-62 years old. On contract through 2027, Texas is recruiting extremely well and could be a major Final Four threat in the coming seasons. I don't see him retiring for a while.

Kim Mulkey-61 years old. She just signed a $32 million dollar contract, I don't see her retiring anytime soon.

Kelly Graves-61 years old. He's probably getting fired after this year. Not sure if he plans to test waters elsewhere or call it quits after a very strong career.

I can see Tara going one, maybe two more years, and then hanging up the whistle. Like a few have pointed out, that increased travel part could be a huge factor. I figure she will give it a try for a year and see how things go from there but I can see the window closing on a great coaching career for Tara. One of the games all-time greatest coaches.

Coach G- Probably 3-4 more years before calling it in. He is having a joy coaching. especially this group of players. Just the vibe is different. Same with Fennelly. I can see him going 3-4 mores.

Coach Graves. I think he has a few more years left with coaching. I would say 5-6 years and he could retire. I don't see him getting fired from Oregon. But who knows. Anything can happen.

 

[Plebe]

Doug Bruno, 73 years old. Had a good run — including one of the longest streaks of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances*, and including memorable takedowns of Duke and Louisville in the NCAA Tournament — but alas his time has come.

* “He guided his alma mater to 18 straight NCAA Tournaments, something only UConn, Tennessee and Stanford have done during the last 20 years.”

 

[triaddukefan]

Doug Bruno, 73 years old. Had a good run — including one of the longest streaks of consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances*, and including memorable takedowns of Duke and Louisville in the NCAA Tournament — but alas his time has come.

* “He guided his alma mater to 18 straight NCAA Tournaments, something only UConn, Tennessee and Stanford have done during the last 20 years.”

Part of that wasn't needed in my opinion

 

[LETTERL]

A lot of the standout coaches in the sport are getting up there in age, take a look at some of the big names below:

Tara Vanderveer-70 years old. Stanford joins the ACC next year meaning a significant increase in travel. Stanford also projects to drop off next year in competitiveness with Brink graduating. I wouldn't be shocked if she retires after this year.

NO!!!! When NC State and Stanford become annual foes, I want Tara on the sidelines as head coach. She can't go yet!!

 

[Big12wbbFan]

A lot of the standout coaches in the sport are getting up there in age, take a look at some of the big names below:

Tara Vanderveer-70 years old. Stanford joins the ACC next year meaning a significant increase in travel. Stanford also projects to drop off next year in competitiveness with Brink graduating. I wouldn't be shocked if she retires after this year.

Geno Auriemma-69 years old. There is some speculation that Geno will retire once Fudd/Bueckers leave sometime between 2024-2026. He's still recruiting quite well despite numerous injuries and setbacks. On contract through 2026. Not going to make a prediction about when he hangs it up, but I think he'll stick around longer than Tara and nab of the all time wins record.

Bill Fennelly-66 years old. He has a monster freshman class and could compete for the Big 12 in coming years. On contract through 2027. I don't think he retires until that class finishes up.

Wes Moore-66 years old. He's putting together a heck of a season and will have a lot of talent coming back the next few years. On contract through 2025 (he might be the most underpaid coach in WCBB, apparently he only makes 750k which is crazy low for his results). Think he'll coach at least 1 more year.

Lisa Bluder-62 years old. Iowa is due for a massive drop off this year assuming Clark leaves along with Martin/Marshall. Signed a contract through 2029 though and fan support will still be massive next year even without Clark. Seems to be in the peak of her coaching career right now. I don't see her retiring for at least a few years.

Vic Schaefer-62 years old. On contract through 2027, Texas is recruiting extremely well and could be a major Final Four threat in the coming seasons. I don't see him retiring for a while.

Kim Mulkey-61 years old. She just signed a $32 million dollar contract, I don't see her retiring anytime soon.

Kelly Graves-61 years old. He's probably getting fired after this year. Not sure if he plans to test waters elsewhere or call it quits after a very strong career.

I definitely can see Tara going at end of season with PAC 12 breaking up and losing best player. Also I understand that Stanford really does not play NIL game and this affects recruiting. Will be very surprised to see her on sidelines next year.

 

[hoopsnloops32]

I wouldn't be surprised if Tara coaches another 10 years to be honest.

 

[Bone Dog]

Tara's in a tough spot if she cares about records. If she retires before Geno, then her record for most wins will fall almost immediately. The only way to preserve it is to try to outlast him. But he's got a slight advantage that won't go away easily. Of course, she may not give a fig for such things.

 

[Vowelguy]

I think Tara keeps going. What else is she going to do? Plus Stanford is a great gig.

And I bet she feels strongly committed to a woman having the all-time wins record.

 

[triaddukefan]

I've seen Summitt, Coach Geno, Mulkey, and Staley in person. Vandeveer is the only one of the top top coaches that I haven't seen. Hopefully she stays a few years in the ACC.

 

[KnightBridgeAZ]

Tara's in a tough spot if she cares about records. If she retires before Geno, then her record for most wins will fall almost immediately. The only way to preserve it is to try to outlast him. But he's got a slight advantage that won't go away easily. Of course, she may not give a fig for such things.

I don't think she cares about records.

I had heard / read that strong speculation before the break-up of the PAC was retirement after this season, but I subsequently read that she had "agreed" to stay on for the "transition" to the new conference. Of course none of that is official.

FWIW, Adia mentioned that she had discussed setting up an ongoing Stanford / Arizona series with Tara after the conference breaks up.

 

[cockhrnleghrn]

I've seen Summitt, Coach Geno, Mulkey, and Staley in person. Vandeveer is the only one of the top top coaches that I haven't seen. Hopefully she stays a few years in the ACC.

I've been lucky to see all of them coach from less than 10 feet away, including Tara.

 

[Plebe]

Tara's in a tough spot if she cares about records. If she retires before Geno, then her record for most wins will fall almost immediately. The only way to preserve it is to try to outlast him. But he's got a slight advantage that won't go away easily. Of course, she may not give a fig for such things.

Geno was gaining steadily on Tara until 2020, but that “slight advantage” has in fact gone away in recent years. In the past 3 seasons, Tara won 92 games, three more than Geno's 89.

 

[Bone Dog]

Geno was gaining steadily on Tara until 2020, but that “slight advantage” has in fact gone away in recent years. In the past 3 seasons, Tara won 92 games, three more than Geno's 89.

I don’t see how the advantage of being a year younger will ever go away. If Tara retires after this year, as rumored, Geno will surpass her win numbers perhaps before the end of the following January. And of course, his winning percentage is already significantly better.

 

[Plebe]

I don’t see how the advantage of being a year younger will ever go away. If Tara retires after this year, as rumored, Geno will surpass her win numbers perhaps before the end of the following January. And of course, his winning percentage is already significantly better.

How is one year of age relevant to this case? It's gonna come down to who stays on longer. Even if Geno manages to overtake Tara while they're both still active, she would easily retake the lead in less than one season if he steps down first.

 

[Vowelguy]

I don’t see how the advantage of being a year younger will ever go away.

I dont see how being a single year younger is a significant advantage. Health, other life priorities, continued enthusiasm for coaching all play a bigger role in retirement IMO.

Furthermore, since women live longer than men, on average, a 70 year-old man is closer to death than a 70 year-old woman.

 

[Vowelguy]

Furthermore, since women live longer than men, on average, a 70 year-old man is closer to death than a 70 year-old woman.

To put a finer point on this, according to social security tables,
the average male born in March 1954 (like Geno) will live 15.6 years
the average female born in June 1953 (like Tara) will live 17.1 years

If anything, the age issue favors Tara.

 

[Bone Dog]

I dont see how being a single year younger is a significant advantage. Health, other life priorities, continued enthusiasm for coaching all play a bigger role in retirement IMO.

Furthermore, since women live longer than men, on average, a 70 year-old man is closer to death than a 70 year-old woman.

And yet there are no retirement rumors about Geno. I guess that one little year does make a difference in this case after all.

 

[Vowelguy]

And yet there are no retirement rumors about Geno. I guess that one little year does make a difference in this case after all.

Impeccable logic.

 

[Plebe]

And yet there are no retirement rumors about Geno. I guess that one little year does make a difference in this case after all.

Just wondering: where exactly are these rumors emanating from, other than the Boneyard?

 

[dabears17]

Tara took off a whole season to coach the 1996 Olympic team and Stanford won 29 games that season, so I think she has 1201+29= 1230 wins right now.

Sounds like she'll coach at least one year in the ACC. Wouldn't be surprised if she retires in two to three years.

 

[bballnut90]

Tara took off a whole season to coach the 1996 Olympic team and Stanford won 29 games that season, so I think she has 1201+29= 1230 wins right now.

Sounds like she'll coach at least one year in the ACC. Wouldn't be surprised if she retires in two to three years.

I don't think she does (or should) get credit for those. Wikipedia gives credit to Amy Tucker/Marianne Stanley.

 

[Bone Dog]

Just wondering: where exactly are these rumors emanating from, other than the Boneyard?

An odd question, in a thread specifically devoted to retirement speculation. Will you demand evidence next? I merely offered a speculation. No factual claims were made, other than the difference in age. If you disagree with the inference that Geno might surpass Tara’s record if he retires later than her, feel free to elaborate.