Coach Niele Ivey leaving Grizzlies to be Head Coach of Notre Dame Women’s Basketball

According to multiple reports, Memphis Grizzlies Assistant Coach Niele Ivey will be leaving the organization to return home to her Alma Mater, the University of Notre Dame.

Ivey is arguably one of the most successful people in the history of Notre Dame basketball, having been a player (two) or assistant coach (seven) in all nine of the Final Fours Notre Dame Women’s Basketball has reached. Her predecessor (and mentor/former coach), the legendary Muffet McGraw, announced her decision to step down on Wednesday and the unveiling of Ivey as her replacement came shortly thereafter. This, from the Notre Dame Athletic’s website, is evidence of the impact that Ivey has made on the Fighting Irish-

...Ivey helped the Fighting Irish post a 386-55 (.875) record during her time on campus, including seven NCAA Women’s Final Four berths, six NCAA title game appearances, a 2018 national championship and 14 conference championships (eight regular season, six tournaments split between the BIG EAST and ACC).

Remarkable. Ivey then left last year to become an assistant on the staff of Grizzlies coach Taylor Jenkins, making her the ninth active female coach in the NBA. Coach Ivey played a key role for Memphis both on and off the court, helping the Grizzlies to one of the season’s best overachieving stories while also advancing the important cause of growing the game of basketball for women.

As the stigma around female coaches working with male athletes continues to dissipate, success stories like Ivey will only serve as inspiration to more and more women. Although she was only with the Grizzlies for a season, she will be missed in Memphis.

Congratulations, Coach Ivey!

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