MADISON, Wis. — Bo Ryan officially took his place alongside basketball royalty when he was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2024 at events taking place Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 12-13, in Uncasville, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts.
The festivities begin on Saturday at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, with an autograph session, followed by a press conference, and in the evening the Hall of Fame Tip Off Celebration and Awards Show. At the gala event, Ryan and his fellow inductees were awarded with Class of 2024 rings and presented with the Class of 2024 Hall of Fame jackets.
On Sunday, a full day of enshrinement activities took place in Springfield, Massachusetts, including Ryan being formally enshrined into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame Enshrinement Ceremony and Red Carpet Show took place at Symphony Hall Springfield.
"It was my supreme honor to coach," Ryan said during his enshrinement speech. "I will cherish the memories we share for the rest of my life."
Ryan was joined in the Class of 2024 by Chauncey Billups (player), Vince Carter (player), Michael Cooper (player), Walter Davis (player), Charles Smith (coach), Seimone Augustus (player), Dick Barnett (player), Harley Redin (coach), Michele Timms (player), Doug Collins (contributor), Herb Simon (contributor) and Jerry West (contributor).
Ryan became the third individual with ties to the Wisconsin men's basketball program inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, joining Harold E. "Bud" Foster and Walter Meanwell.
The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame induction marked the ninth hall of fame that Ryan has been enshrined in, including his induction into the Madison Sports Hall of Fame in 2023.
BO RYAN
Ryan spent 32 seasons as a collegiate head coach before retiring in December of 2015. He finished his career 26th on the NCAA's all-time wins list with a record of 747-233 (.762), including a mark of 364-130 (.737) in 14-plus seasons at Wisconsin. Author of the most wins in UW annals and the best winning percentage in Big Ten history, Ryan led the Badgers to seven Big Ten titles, back-to-back Final Fours in 2014 and 2015 and an appearance in the national championship game.
A native of Chester, Pennsylvania, Ryan was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year four times (2002, 2003, 2013, 2015) while coaching at Wisconsin. Prior to his time in Madison, he coached at UW-Milwaukee (1999-2000) and UW-Platteville (1984-1999), where his team won four NCAA Division III national championships (1991, 1995, 1998, 1999). Ryan led Wisconsin to four Big Ten regular season championships (2002, 2003, 2008, 2015), three Big Ten Tournament championships (2004, 2008, 2015), and the NCAA Final Four twice (2014, 2015). Ryan is a recipient of the Clair Bee Coach of the Year Award (2007), NABC Outstanding Service Award (2009) and Coaches vs. Cancer Champion Award (2013).
It was during his 15-year tenure at UW-Platteville that Ryan firmly established himself as one of the nation's top coaches. Ryan guided the Division III program to a phenomenal 353-76 (.822) overall record. In his final 12 seasons, the Pioneers won four national championships (1991, '95, '98, '99), were the winningest NCAA men's basketball team of the 1990s (all divisions) with a 266-26 (.908) record, won eight WIAC titles, compiled a 30-5 NCAA Division III tournament mark, and never won fewer than 23 games.
Before coming to Wisconsin, Ryan coached for two seasons at UW-Milwaukee. There, he coached the Panthers to their first back-to-back winning seasons in eight years. UWM also experienced a 161-percent home attendance increase in his first season.
Ryan's coaching career began in the fall of 1972 at Brookhaven High School in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, where he was hired as a history teacher and head basketball coach. After just one year at Brookhaven, Ryan began his collegiate coaching career in 1973 at Dominican College of Racine (Wisconsin) as an assistant under Bill Cofield.
In 1974, Ryan moved back to the Philadelphia area to serve as the head basketball coach at Sun Valley High School. Ryan would move back to the collegiate coaching ranks for good in March of 1976 when Cofield again hired him as an assistant, this time at Wisconsin. Ryan spent eight seasons (1976-84) working under Cofield and Steve Yoder before taking over at UW-Platteville in the spring of 1984.
