Xavier University Athletics
Kevin McGuff Inroduced As Basketball Coach
06.13.02 | General
CINCINNATI--- Xavier University Associate Vice President and Director for Athletics Mike Bobinski introduced Kevin McGuff as the new head women?s basketball coach during a Thursday afternoon press conference. McGuff, a 32-year-old native of Hamilton, Ohio, comes to Xavier after six years as an assistant coach at Notre Dame. He replaces Melanie Balcomb, who recently resigned to take the head coaching position at Vanderbilt University.
"The immediate interest in our coaching job was tremendous, but Kevin McGuff stood out from the beginning," Bobinski said. "Kevin immediately impressed me with his understanding of what Xavier is all about and his sincere belief that our women?s basketball program has the opportunity to be one of the premiere programs in the country. He comes to us from a Notre Dame program with a very similar emphasis on academics and integrity, but with the added benefit of having been part of competitive success at an elite level during his time there."
In McGuff?s six years at Notre Dame, the Irish were 160-39 (a .804 winning percentage). In addition to winning the 2001 NCAA Championship, Notre Dame has advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament in all six of his years there and has advanced to the Sweet 16 four times and the Final Four twice.
"Without question, Kevin is one of the brightest young coaching minds in the country," said 16-year Notre Dame head coach Muffet McGraw. "There?s no one who is a better fit or a better choice for Xavier University than Kevin. He will have great success down there. We certainly appreciate everything he did for our program and we will miss him. However, we understand this is a tremendous opportunity for him and wish him all the best."
McGuff is the fifth McGraw assistant to leave Notre Dame to become a head coach. The others are Sandy Botham (Wisconsin-Milwaukee), Liz Feeley (Smith College), Bill Fennelly (Iowa State) and David Glass (Virginia Commonwealth).
"Being the head coach at Xavier is a dream come true for me," McGuff said. "I?ve always regarded Xavier as a very special situation. To me, this opportunity represents the best of both worlds. Xavier is a nationally recognized academic institution with a women?s basketball program that is successful at the highest level. This is an elite program, and my goal is to build and maintain a level of national prominence for the program."
While at Notre Dame, McGuff assisted with the day-to-day operations of the office, the planning of practices and the coordination of Irish recruiting and scouting efforts. He also worked extensively with the ND guards and was responsible for handling the scheduling for the Irish.
McGuff, who was listed as one of the Top 5 Assistant Coaches in the country by the Women?s Basketball Journal each of the past two years, has helped Notre Dame land six consecutive Top 20 recruiting classes according to Blue Star Basketball Index. Notre Dame?s attendance has risen by over 700 percent since McGuff joined the staff in 1996.
Prior to joining the staff at Notre Dame, McGuff spent three years at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. The RedHawks were 54-30 during his tenure while he coordinated all the scouting efforts, assisted with the internal and external operations of the program and served as director of the summer camp basketball program.
In 1992-93, McGuff served as a graduate assistant in the marketing and promotions office at Miami while earning a Master of Science degree in Sports Studies while majoring in Sports Organization. That year he also served as an assistant girls basketball coach at his alma mater, Hamilton Badin High School, while the Rams went 25-1 and were district champions and the regional runner-up.
McGuff played basketball at St. Joseph's (Ind.) College from 1988-92. As team captain his senior year, he led the Pumas to the Great Lakes Valley Conference championship and a berth in the NCAA Division II tournament. He earned a bachelor?s degree in business administration while majoring in marketing at St. Joseph?s.
As the fifth head coach in Xavier women?s basketball history, McGuff will lead the Musketeers into their 31st season. Preceding McGuff were Melanie Balcomb (135-78, 1995-2002), Mark Ehlen (122-130, 1986-1995), Laurie Massa (100-144, 1976-86) and Tony Brueneman (33-18, 1971-76).
This past season, Xavier was 12-19. The Musketeers have reached the Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinals in five straight seasons and have won the title in two of the last three years. Xavier has appeared in three of the last four NCAA Tournaments and has played in the postseason in four of the last five years.
