Badgers fans keeping talk radio hosts busy after Bo Ryan’s retirement

Wisconsin, which during the preseason was expected to be a contender in the Big Ten, now turns to Gard as conference play approaches.

Following a 64-49 win over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, the longtime Badgers head coach called it quits during his press conference.

Former associate head coach Greg Gard has been promoted for the remainder of the 2015-16 season as interim head coach.

“This was a decision months in the making”. “It gives him now – I think they’re done with their nonconference schedule – a chance to put his spin on it before the league starts”. “At the end of the day, I don’t know what the athletic department’s stance is, but if Coach Ryan gives him his stamp of approval, that’s good enough for me”. A year after the Badgers’ Final Four run came to an end at the hands of the Wildcats, the Badgers denied Kentucky’s chance at an undefeated season with a stunning victory in the national semifinal.

Ryan holds the program record for wins at Wisconsin with 364, and and he has led the Badgers to the NCAA tournament in each of his 14 full seasons. Following Glen Gard’s death, Ryan then spoke with athletic director Barry Alvarez and decided the semester break would be an appropriate time to step down.

In June, Ryan appeared to be giving his boss Barry Alvarez a year’s notice to find his replacement, yet he never left any doubt as to whom he sees fit to run the program in the future. So far this season, the Badgers are 7-5. It would be the last time Ryan and Turgeon coached against each other.

Gard had been a Bo Ryan assistant for 23 seasons including 15 with the Badgers. Gard, in his 23rd year as Ryan’s assistant, takes over the job on an interim basis. Remember a younger Bo firing away at Big Ten referees over a decade ago as the new guy in town? The banner was noticed by Wisconsin’s coaches, who pointed it out to the players and the rest is history. Ryan would later walk that statement back, saying that he could coach for sometime ahead, with no more being said about his coaching status until tonight.

He now turns the program over to Gard, who spent 22 seasons alongside Ryan. Wisconsin was 4-36 against over its’ last 40 game against the Hoosiers, but Ryan would win his first four meetings with Indiana. The detail-oriented Gard has been getting shoutouts from Ryan for years, but the lack of head coaching experience was glaring.