The John R. Wooden Award will celebrate it’s 50th anniversary this season. Leading up to the award ceremony on April 10, 2026, The Sporting Tribune in partnership with the Wooden Award and the Los Angeles Athletic Club will highlight past winners of the Wooden Award and the Legends of Coaching Award.
Notre Dame swiftly shifted into a national powerhouse, and thanks to Muffet McGraw who took over the dynasty in 1987, it has continued to stay that way. Before her time with the Irish, McGraw grew up in Philadelphia and played point guard at Saint Joseph’s where she developed her defensive mindset. Soon after she started coaching at Archbishop Carroll High School learning how to craft the culture she later perfected.
Following that she leveled up in the coaching world becoming an assistant at Saint Joseph’s sharpening her recruiting eye, which helped her land her first head-coaching job at Lehigh at just 26 years old.
From there she inherited Notre Dame’s program which had potential but no national identity. She wasted no time and established defensive discipline, a guard-centric offense, and a culture of accountability.
In 1997 the Irish saw their first Final Four appearance become a reality. Notre Dame would then land future stars like Skylar Diggins, Jewell Loyd, and Arike Ogunbowale.
Come 2001 they earned a National Championship that snowballed into McGraw’s huge dynasty years. From 2011 to 2015 the Irish had five straight final fours and in 2017 she became a Wooden Award Winner. The following year she led Notre Dame through another successful season and earned a National Championship.
McGraw has racked up 939 career wins, nine Final Fours, and multiple National Coach of the Year awards. She is one of six coaches with multiple NCAA titles and was also inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
“The thing I want to teach my players is confidence," McGraw says. "I want them to have a swagger on the court. I want them to learn how to battle and compete because that’s how you get to the top. I don’t want them to just think they’re good, I want them to believe they’re good and everyone around them to see that. Because the way you see yourself has everything to do with how the world sees you.”
After 33 seasons McGraw retired but still remains active in the women in leadership and sports movement. She is currently a women’s basketball analyst for the ACC Network and continues to mentor other coaches on their journeys.