UWP to honor Coach Bo Ryan with court naming
PLATTEVILLE - The University of Wisconsin-Platteville will honor its four-time national championship basketball coach by naming the Williams Fieldhouse basketball court "Bo Ryan Court."
William "Bo" Ryan made UW-Platteville the premier basketball program during his 15-year tenure, which included four NCAA Division III national championships. He recorded a 353-76 record at UW-Platteville from 1984-99 and his 82.2 winning percentage was the best in the history of NCAA Division III basketball.
UW-Platteville will officially dedicate the floor on Saturday, Jan. 27, 2007 at halftime of the game against UW-Eau Claire.
Chancellor David Markee said in announcing the plan, "We are extremely excited and honored to recognize Bo for his accomplishments and the success of the teams. His teams brought such positive recognition for UWP both on and off the court."
Ryan guided the Pioneers to eight conference titles and nine straight NCAA III playoff appearances. UW-Platteville won national titles in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999. His 1992 squad also advanced to the Final Four, where it placed third. In all, the Pioneers were 30-5 in NCAA tournament play.
In his last 12 seasons as the Pioneers' leader, Ryan guided his team to 314-37 record, including a phenomenal 157-7 record in Williams Fieldhouse. UW-Platteville was the winningest team of all of college basketball during the 1990s, with a 226-26 record (90.9 percent). Ryan's 1996-97 club set the all-time NCAA record (all divisions) for fewest points allowed at 47.5 ppg. He was named national coach of the year four times and WIAC coach of the year on six occasions.
After coaching at UW-Milwaukee for two seasons, Ryan became the head coach at the University of Wisconsin. He has guided the Badgers to two Big Ten regular season titles and one conference tournament crown. The Badgers have been in the NCAA tournament every year under Ryan.
Contact: Stephen Zielke, vice chancellor for Administrative Services, (608) 342-1226,zielke@uwplatt.edu
Prepared by: Paul Erickson, (608) 342-1574,ericksop@uwplatt.edu
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