Notre Dame coach Niele Ivey on the Her Hoop Stats Podcast
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This week on the Her Hoop Stats Podcast, John Liddle talked with new Notre Dame head coach Niele Ivey about Muffet McGraw’s retirement, getting hired at her alma mater, coaching in the NBA, the impact of the coronavirus, and much more.
We’ve decided to share some of the highlights from the interview here, but you can listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Play, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Episode Highlights
On the timeline of getting hired:
Coach McGraw alluded to, at some point, me taking over a couple of years prior. Sometimes, she’d just throw out little things like, ‘Hey, I could just see you staying here forever.’ Alluding to the fact that I could be next. Every year, she really reevaluates what she wants to do. That was some information that Jack Swarbrick, our athletic director, let me know. That every year, it could be that year that she would like to step away. She was at that point of her career that she was thinking about it, at least, so that’s really the timeline of having a little bit of an idea, maybe, because you never knew when. During the pandemic was when Jack reached out. The first couple weeks, during the first initial part of the shutdown [was] when he reached out to let me know that Coach had decided. She was reflecting during this time off and she was ready to retire and [he] offered me the position.
On what she learned in Memphis:
I learned how to build culture. Taylor Jenkins, the head coach there, it was his first year coaching. We had a young team, a young staff, and he was basically putting the team together. I learned [about] building the foundation. I think with my time at Notre Dame, and even being a player under Coach McGraw’s leadership, it was set in place. She had already built the foundation. That’s all I knew. It was really amazing for me to go to Memphis and learn how to build a culture, how to build a team, because that’s the aspect that I did not have prior knowledge to. And that’s big for me, because that’s where I’m going to start. … I learned so much that was beyond the Xs and Os. Just managing people, managing an organization and a professional organization is very different from the collegiate atmosphere. I learned so much.
On how the pandemic affected her decision:
I don’t think that was part of my decision. This is hard, what we’re going through, but I didn’t feel like it played a part in the decision. I think it just, for everybody, [was a chance] to reevaluate what’s important in your life. I think that’s something that I took away from it. For me, it’s making sure I impact people and impact lives. That was definitely one of the main reasons why I chose to come back to Notre Dame. Just feeling like I could impact the women’s game and impact young girls’ lives. But it was a time of reflection for me. During that time, I had a chance to just really reflect on what’s important to me.
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Thanks for reading the Her Hoop Stats Newsletter. If you like our work, be sure to check out our stats site, our podcast, and our social media accounts on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. You can also buy Her Hoop Stats gear, such as laptop stickers, mugs, and shirts!