Jay Wright, Hall of Fame Villanova Basketball Coach, Retires


Jay Wright’s story run at Villanova is over.

The Big East Conference was briefed Wednesday night of Wright’s plans to retire from coaching immediately, a person familiar with the situation said on the condition that his name not be disclosed as his retirement was not announced. An official announcement is expected late Wednesday night.

At 60, Wright leaves college basketball at a relatively young age and at the peak of his profession. He was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last year. It has won two Division I national titles in the past seven seasons. They most recently led the Wildcats to this year’s Final Four, where they lost to eventual national champion Kansas in a national semi-final. Wright, whose looks and style has earned him comparisons to actor George Clooney, has led Villanova to four Final Four and five Big East tournament titles in the past 14 seasons.

Head coach since 1994, Wright set a record 642-282 (.695) during his career at Hofstra and Villanova, where he has coached since 2001.

Wright is the third high-profile Division I men’s basketball coach to retire in the past two years, following Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, who retired by running to this year’s Final Four, and Williams, who retired after the 2020-21 season. Wright is significantly younger than these two men. Krzyzewski was 75 and Williams 70 when he retired.

Krzyzewski won five national championships and Williams three. Before retiring, Wright’s two titles tied him among active coaches with Bill Self of Kansas. Rick Pitino of Iona has won championships in Kentucky and Louisville, but the latter won in 2013, later emptied by the NCAA.

“I was absolutely shocked,” Williams said in a phone interview, as the Tar Heels lost to Villanova with Kris Jenkins’ last-second 3-pointer in the 2016 NCAA championship game.

“Jay is only 60 years old, he has a lot more time for the game, but I love him because he made the right decision for himself and his family and I can live with that. Jay is one of the giants of our game, a great friend.”

Williams recalled that he expected Villanova players and coaches to congratulate Wright before Williams’ moment with Wright, after Villanova won the title by beating North Carolina 77-74 in Houston.

“I said to him, ‘I’m so happy for you. I’m devastated for my team, but I’m so happy for you,” Williams said. “And Jay called me a few days later and said how much this means to him. And he’s a great guy. He’s one of the giants of our game.”

When the original iteration of the Big East split in 2013 when universities with top football programs, such as Syracuse, Louisville, Connecticut, and West Virginia, split into other leagues, Wright helped hold the “new Big East” together: He united the coaches. He is under his leadership with a vision to build a basketball-centric league that can compete with Power 5 schools that include both basketball and football.

“Frankly, it was terrific,” Creighton Technical Director Greg McDermott said in a phone interview. “His leadership when the Big East kind of reformed, I think that’s why the league is where it is today. It was all inclusive from the start to make sure this would work and was definitely a big part of it. ”

Wright, who has been known for his stylish suits for years, enjoyed not having to wear them in the comfortable environment of the pandemic, but instead wore a three-quarter zipper and sweatpants. He said he didn’t buy a single suit for his trip to New Orleans at the Final Four.

With retirement approaching, Wright won’t have to wear suits anytime soon.



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