MADISON, Wis. – Long-time Wisconsin women's rowing coach Bebe Bryans is stepping away from her coaching duties after 19 years at the helm of the Badgers.

"It is with bittersweet emotions that I have decided to step down from my position as Wisconsin's women's rowing coach and start a new adventure," Bryans said. "I have lived and breathed Wisconsin rowing for the past 19 years and appreciate the effort given by every woman who walked into Porter Boathouse. I hope they are proud of what they achieved here. There is something about this place, this campus, that fills one with hope for the future and I know that the team will continue to thrive with the foundations that have been built over 50 years.

"Thank you to the coaches, support staff and administrators I worked with over the years who made me feel like I was a part of something special. On Wisconsin."

Bryans joined the Badgers in 2004 and took the program to new heights, reaching 15 NCAA championships, including in each of her first two seasons. The program then began a run of 13 consecutive NCAA championships, interrupted only by the canceled 2020 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the 18 competition seasons in her 19 years at Wisconsin, the Badgers claimed 12 top-three finishes at the Big Ten championships, including UW's first Big Ten title in 2010. That same season, UW placed seventh at the NCAA championships, the school's best finish to date. The Badgers posted five top-10 NCAA finishes during Bryans' tenure.

The longest-tenured head women's rowing coach in UW history, Bryans also oversaw the Badger women's lightweight program, which won four Intercollegiate Rowing Association (IRA) lightweight eight national championships and 10 total IRA boat titles since her arrival in 2004.

"We want to congratulate Bebe on an incredibly successful run with Wisconsin rowing and thank her for her two decades of dedication to the Badgers," UW Director of Athletics Chris McIntosh said.

In addition to team success, 16 of her openweight rowers earned 17 All-America honors while 37 rowers totaled 40 All-Big Ten accolades. Three Badger rowers won Big Ten Freshman of the Year throughout her time at UW. She also boasts a pair of Big Ten Coach of the Year awards while a Badger.

On the international stage, 15 of her openweights have rowed on national teams, while three of those have reached the highest level of competition as Olympians.

For the lightweights, 20 individuals earned 24 All-America honors, while eight rowed on the international stage and one at the Olympics.

The rowing program has excelled in the classroom as well, with Academic All-Big Ten rowers numbering in the hundreds over her time at UW, while more than 70 of her charges earned Collegiate Rowing Coaches Association National Scholar Athlete awards during her 19 years.

Before UW, Bryans spent seven seasons as the founding coach of Michigan State rowing (1997-2004) where she was twice named Big Ten Coach of the Year. That followed five years as head coach at Georgetown (1992-97). Her collegiate rowing coaching career began at Mills College (1988-92).

She also contributed at the international level, helping with USRowing's women's national team beginning in 1985 and serving as a member of the Women's Olympic Rowing Committee (1992-94).

Her coaching career actually began during a two-year stint at her alma mater, San Francisco State, as an assistant swim coach. As a swimmer at SFSU, Bryans was a 10-time Division II All-American, the 1986 SFSU Woman Athlete of the Year and the 1986 Northern California Athletic Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

"Bebe and I have been coaching colleagues and boathouse partners for nearly two decades so it was a shock when she told me," Wisconsin men's rowing head coach Chris Clark explained. "We worked perfectly together which is so important in a shared facility. I was always genuinely happy to see Bebe every day along with her staff which can be a rare thing in a competitive environment with high stress. I told her I'm envious that she will have some freedom to do things that a D1 head coach just doesn't have the time for. Bebe has been an exemplar of what the UW and Badger Athletics stands for and we will all miss her and wish her the best."