UW-Green Bay’s Kevin Borseth retires with 821 wins — ranks 16th in Division I in career victories
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — UW-Green Bay women’s basketball coach Kevin Borseth is retiring, after winning 821 games and earning 14 NCAA tournament berths during a 37-year head coaching career.
Borseth announced his retirement at a Wednesday morning news conference. He owned an 821-316 overall record, ranking him 16th among all Division I women’s basketball coaches in total wins.
Green Bay went 27-7 this season and made its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2018, losing to Tennessee in the first round.
“I learned far more from the players than I think I ever taught them,” said Borseth, who also coached at Michigan and Division II program Michigan Tech.
An emotional Borseth then discussed the biggest things he had learned from his players over the years.
“I’ve learned that every player deserves a second chance,” Borseth said. “I’ve learned that don’t tell me what you don’t want me to do. Tell me what you want me to do. I’ve learned a lot from players, and the ride they’ve taken me on has been absolutely and truly amazing.”
This season, the only active Division I coaches with more wins than Borseth were Stanford’s Tara VanDerveer, UConn’s Geno Auriemma, Iowa’s Lisa Bluder, Little Rock’s Joe Foley and North Carolina State’s Wes Moore. VanDerveer announced her retirement Tuesday night.
Borseth said he decided to step down now because of his age and his desire to leave the program in a good place. Borseth turns 70 years old in June, and he said it was increasingly hard for him to recruit because prospects realized his retirement was likely approaching.
“The coaching part is the fun,” Borseth said. “The sitting in the stands part at the AAU tournaments in the summertime in July for seven days in a row is not the piece that I will miss, that I can tell you. The building is the hard part. When you bring in good players and bring in good people, the other part is simple. The easy part is coaching them. The hard part is finding the right people and the right players to come in.”
Borseth spent most of his career at Green Bay, where he posted a 509-146 record with 13 NCAA Tournament appearances in two separate stints totaling 21 seasons. He was at Green Bay from 1998-2007 before leaving. He returned to Green Bay in 2012.
During Borseth’s first stint at Green Bay, the Phoenix reached seven NCAA Tournaments in nine seasons, including four straight from 2002-05. Green Bay again earned four straight NCAA berths under Borseth from 2015-18.
Green Bay won 87% of its Horizon League games under Borseth, a nine-time Horizon League coach of the year.
In between his two stints at Green Bay, Borseth went 87-73 at Michigan from 2007-12. In his final season at Michigan, Borseth led the Wolverines to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001.
Borseth began his coaching career at Michigan Tech, where he went 225-97 from 1987-98.
“The impact that I hope that I made, is that the players enjoyed playing for me, that I gave them an opportunity, that they were able to be themselves, that we formed good teams together,” Borseth said.
Green Bay chancellor Michael Alexander said one of the streets next to the Kress Events Center, where the Phoenix play their home games, will be renamed Kevin Borseth Way.
“His legacy will be unmatched at UWGB,” athletic director Josh Moon said. “You could argue that he has made the biggest impact on UWGB in its history since its inception.”
Moon said Green Bay would use a search firm to assist in selecting Borseth’s successor. Borseth will help out the program with recruiting this spring.
TOP PHOTO: FIELE – Green Bay head coach Kevin Borseth reacts to a call during the first half of a first-round college basketball game against Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh, N.C., Saturday, March 23, 2024. Borseth announced Wednesday, April 10, 2024, that he is retiring from college basketball after winning 821 games and earning 14 NCAA Tournament berths during a 37-year head coaching career. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown, File-0