National Champion College Basketball Coach Retires After 21 Seasons

By Brian Jones

A legendary college basketball coach just made a surprising decision. Jay Wright, the head coach of the Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team has decided to retire after 21 seasons with the team. According to CBS Sports, Wright, who won two national championships at Villanova, called an impromptu meeting with his team to share the news on Wednesday night. It was also reported by CBS Sports that Fordham coach Kyle Neptune will replace Wright. 

"Over the past 21 years, I've had the opportunity to live out a professional dream of as the head coach at Villanova," Wright said in a statement. "Patty and I have been blessed to work with incredible, gifted young men who allowed us to coach them and brought us unmatched joy," Wright said in a statement on Twitter. "We cannot overstate the gratitude to the players, coaches, and administrators who have been with us on this path. It has been an honor and a privilege to work at Villanova, especially under Father Peter and Mark Jackson."   

Wright joined Villanova in 2001 after spending time as the head coach of Hofstra for seven years (1994-2001). In his 21 seasons with the Wildcats, Wright led the team to the NCAA Tournament 16 times. He won the Big East regular-season title eight times, the Big East Tournament title five times, and reached the Final Four four times including this year. Villanova won the national championship with Wright in 2016 and 2018. For his work with the Wildcats, Wright was named Naismith Coach of the Year twice (2006 and 2016) and was named Coach of the Decade (2010s) by the Associated Press. 

Last year, Wright was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. It was reported that he was considering retirement throughout this past season. CBS Sports says Wright moved closer to a decision in March, and in recent weeks Villanova officials had discussions with Wright to see if he would reconsider retiring. 

"Jay's legacy at Villanova extends well beyond the numerous awards, accolades and championships," Villanova President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, OSA, and Villanova vice president and director of athletics Mark Jackson said in a statement. "He will be forever known to our community as Villanova's winningest coach, who did things the "Wright" way, guiding, developing, and empowering the student-athletes who played for him to not only be better on the basketball court but in their personal lives. Jay taught us all the true meaning of "ATTITUDE," so, on behalf of everyone associated with Villanova Basketball, we would like to express our overwhelming "GRATITUDE" for everything he has done for Villanova."  

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