When Notre Dame women’s basketball snuck past Purdue to capture the program’s first national championship on April 1, 2001, both Niele Ivey and Kevin McGuff were among those in blue and gold lost in the celebration. Now, 25 years after that championship-winning evening in St. Louis, Ivey and McGuff will collide for the first time as head coaches, and only one can sustain their championship hopes beyond Monday afternoon in Columbus.
Now in his 13th season as head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes, McGuff learned the ins and outs of the coaching profession for seven years on the staff of Basketball Hall of Famer Muffet McGraw in South Bend. McGuff was integral in recruiting a promising guard from St. Louis to South Bend, securing current Notre Dame head coach Ivey as the prize of the 1996 recruiting class. Five years later, McGraw, McGuff and Ivey would be atop the college basketball world, back in Ivey’s hometown.
“Niele was a great player, and it was a privilege and honor to be on that staff to coach her. One of the things I think that really sticks out as the reason she’s been such an effective head coach so far when I look back at her as a player when we won the National Championship, she was certainly one of the leaders of the team,” McGuff said.
“The thing that made her such an effective leader was her ability to connect with everybody on the team,” McGuff continued. “I see that in her as a head coach, the way she connects with young people in recruiting, the way she connects with the young people in her program. It’s really cool to see, and I think that’s something that has put her in this position to be successful and will continue to do so.”
McGuff parlayed his successful stint with the Irish into his first head coaching job, landing the gig at Xavier to begin the 2002-03 season. After posting a versatile 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and six steals in that championship triumph over the Boilermakers, Ivey embarked on a professional career in the WNBA, but her playing days were cut short by repeated knee injuries.
Despite her injuries, Ivey didn’t want her time on the hardwood to come to a close. Ivey then reconnected with McGuff to begin her career in the coaching ranks.
“When I was with Xavier I was an intern and still playing in the WNBA. I unfortunately had a third knee surgery. Kevin gave me that opportunity and brought me on staff. I learned a lot, and that’s where that love started to come from. Being a part of his program, being around the players, that’s where I kind of developed that itch to be able to want to coach,” Ivey remembered.
In her two short seasons in Cincinnati, Ivey and McGuff led the Musketeers to a 47-17 record, culminating with an appearance in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. From there, Ivey returned to her alma mater under McGraw, serving as an assistant for twelve seasons, including the second national championship season in school history in 2018. After one year with the NBA’s Memphis Grizzlies, Ivey was tabbed to replace the retiring McGraw in 2020.
Both coaches expressed their gratitude to McGraw for helping progress their career.
“Coach McGraw has produced a lot of incredible coaches. I absolutely credit coach McGraw for us being part of that same system. The values she created, the way we coach, the way we mentor is very similar. The way our coaching style is very similar. Again, just having that foundation with the Notre Dame family like you mentioned, that network is the reason we’re very similar,” Ivey said.
McGuff expressed a similar sentiment. “I really grew as a young coach, and it put me in position to get a head coaching job, and more importantly to be prepared. What I would tell you is that the most successful coaches are people that run great programs. I think that’s what I learned most from Muffet. The organization, the attention to detail, the way she treated people. I just feel like she ran as good a program as anybody in the country when she was the head coach at Notre Dame,” he said.
So where will McGraw’s heart lie in this battle between two of her former mentees?
“She stays out of it. I connected with her last week before we left. She hated playing against family. But she loves both of us. So she’s just like ‘Good luck. Love you.’ I’m sure she’s saying the same thing to Kevin,” Ivey said.
McGuff also experienced great personal growth at Notre Dame, as he met his wife, Letitia, a standout player for McGraw in the early ‘90s before also joining the staff.
“Kevin was the wing position coach when I was a player, so I’ve known him for so long. Letitia graduated from Notre Dame. She’s one of my best friends. We talk almost every day. I’m godmother to their second youngest, Lily. Just an incredible family,” Ivey recalls.
“The Notre Dame network, family network dynamic has been strong since I was in college, since ‘96 is when I met both Letitia and Kevin. They got married and I spent a lot of summers here with my son when he was growing up. They kind of took me in as family,” she added.
Ivey added that she and Letitia talk almost every day, including this past week, but the roundball never intrudes on the conversation. McGuff said he doesn’t have to monitor their discussions, as the friendship transcends basketball.
“That’s what’s the best about us: We don’t talk about basketball,” Ivey said. “When we’re together, we talk family. She’s somebody that I really lean on. She’s been one of my mentors. We both are very strong in our faith so we talk about everything but basketball.”
So when Notre Dame and Ohio State take the floor on Monday afternoon, it won’t just be a basketball battle, but also a family affair. With a spot in the Sweet Sixteen on the line, only one coach, one friend and one Irish legend can emerge a winner. And while that may affect the relationship between Ivey and McGuff tomorrow, their connection as champions and friends transcends well beyond the result of one game.
“I’m not friends with him tomorrow. He knows that,” Ivey said. “It’s a business trip, and we’ve gone against each other a couple times. I was an assistant coach then, but we’re both trying to advance. We support each other outside of playing each other, obviously, but you know how to keep it competitive and business oriented. That’s how we both are.”
