Gregory Glen Gard (born December 3, 1970) is an American
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
coach for the
Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...
. Gard took over on December 15, 2015, after
Bo Ryan
William Francis "Bo" Ryan Jr. (born December 20, 1947) is an American former college basketball coach and player. He was the head coach of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers men's basketball team from 2001 to December 2015. Ryan se ...
announced his retirement as head coach of the Badgers. Gard is a native of Cobb Wisconsin.
Coaching career
Assistant coach
On December 15, 2015, Gard was announced as the interim head coach after
Bo Ryan
William Francis "Bo" Ryan Jr. (born December 20, 1947) is an American former college basketball coach and player. He was the head coach of the University of Wisconsin–Madison Badgers men's basketball team from 2001 to December 2015. Ryan se ...
announced his retirement following the Badgers win over
Texas A&M Corpus Christi.
Gard had been Ryan's longest-serving assistant, having coached together for 23 years at the time of the transition.
[ They had coached together at three schools—Gard's alma mater of Wisconsin–Platteville, where he had played on the varsity baseball team as a freshman; ]Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
; and Wisconsin. In the process, Gard became one of the most respected assistant coaches in the college game.[
]
Head coach
2015–16 season
After Gard took over in the 2015–2016 season, the team stumbled, winning just two of their next seven games, with an overall record of 9–9 at that point. However the team's turnaround started with an upset over #4 Michigan State and won 11 of the next 13 games to finish out the regular season tied for third in the Big Ten with an overall record of 20–11 (12–6 in the Big Ten). Following the end of the regular season, on March 7, 2016, Wisconsin removed the interim tag and Gard was promoted to head coach of the Badgers. Wisconsin received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament, where they beat #10 seeded Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
in the first round. Wisconsin defeated #2 seeded Xavier by a 3-point buzzer beater
In basketball and other such timed sports, a buzzer beater is a shot that is taken before the game clock of a quarter, a half (if the half is the second one, then, a game), or an overtime period expires but does not go in the basket until after t ...
from Bronson Koenig
Bronson Koenig (born November 13, 1994) is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Erie BayHawks of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Wisconsin Badgers. Koenig attended Aquinas High School in La C ...
in the second round to advance to the Sweet 16. However they lost to #6 seeded Notre Dame in the Sweet 16. After the season ended Gard was named the 2016 Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year.
2020–21 season
= Leaked recording
=
On June 22, 2021, a surreptitious recording of a meeting, in which several members of the 2020–21 team directed criticism at Gard, was leaked to the Wisconsin State Journal
The ''Wisconsin State Journal'' is a daily newspaper published in Madison, Wisconsin by Lee Enterprises. The newspaper, the second largest in Wisconsin, is primarily distributed in a 19 county region in south-central Wisconsin. As of September ...
and subsequently posted to YouTube.
2021–22 season
=2022 postgame fight
=
A fight took place involving Gard after the February 20, 2022 game between the Michigan Wolverines
The Michigan Wolverines comprise 29 varsity sports teams at the University of Michigan. These teams compete in the NCAA's Division I and in the Big Ten Conference in all sports except women's water polo, which competes in the NCAA inter-divisio ...
and the Wisconsin Badgers
The Wisconsin Badgers are the athletic teams representing the University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin). They compete as a member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level (Football Bowl Subdivisi ...
at the Kohl Center
The Kohl Center is an arena and athletic center at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, United States. The building, which opened in 1998, is the home of the university's men's basketball and ice hockey teams, and the women's basketball team. ...
. During the game, Gard took two timeouts in the final minute as the Badgers held a significant lead over the Wolverines. Gard explained in an interview after the fight that the timeout was taken to reset the play as the ball had not yet crossed into Michigan's side of the court within 10 seconds, which would have led to a turnover. After the timeout, Wisconsin was able to advance the ball into Michigan's half of the court and the game ended soon afterward in a Badgers win with a score of 77-63.[Michigan coach Juwan Howard hits Wisconsin men's basketball assistant after loss](_blank)
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
[Michigan vs. Wisconsin - Box Score - February 20, 2022](_blank)
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
During the handshakes between the teams, Michigan Coach Juwan Howard
Juwan Antonio Howard (born February 7, 1973) is an American former professional basketball player and current head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men's team.
A one-time All-Star and one-time All-NBA power forward, he began his NBA career ...
appeared to initially ignore Coach Greg Gard and then attempted to walk past as Gard approached Howard and stopped him for the usual post-game handshake. Howard stated that he did not want to be touched and expressed his displeasure with the timeouts, grabbing Gard by the shirt at which point others began to separate them. Gard and Howard began yelling at one another, even as they were separated by their respective squads and security personnel, leading to a verbal escalation between the two coaches.[Michigan vs. Wisconsin fight: Juwan Howard hardly only party to blame for overshadowing sport's big weekend](_blank)
CBS Sports
CBS Sports is the sports division of the American television network CBS. Its headquarters are in the CBS Building on W 52nd Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, with programs produced out of Studio 43 at the CBS Broadcast Center on W 5 ...
As things continued to escalate, Howard reached in and struck Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft
Joseph Krabbenhoft (born March 24, 1987) is a retired American professional basketball player and current associate head coach at the University of Wisconsin.
College career
Born in Spring Valley, Illinois, Krabbenhoft played college basketball ...
with an open hand.[College hoops world reacts to Juwan Howard slapping a Wisconsin assistant after loss](_blank)
For The Win (USA Today) This led to both teams to begin fighting each other. While most of the fight was pushes and shoves, at least three players threw punches; forward Moussa Diabaté
Moussa Diabaté (born 21 January 2002) is a French professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Clippers of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Ontario Clippers of the NBA G League. He played college bas ...
for Michigan who was a starter for the game, forward Terrance Williams II for Michigan, and guard Jahcobi Neath for Wisconsin. The actions of both coaches and the players were condemned, which Howard receiving the majority for his physical contact against Krabbenhoft. The Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...
released a statement that they were reviewing the postgame events. The following day, Gard was fined $10,000 for his actions for violating the Big Ten's sportsmanship policy while Howard was suspended for the remainder of Michigan's season and fined $40,000.Michigan coach Juwan Howard suspended for rest of regular season; Wisconsin's Greg Gard fined $10K
The Athletic
''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...
Head coaching record
References
External links
Wisconsin profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gard, Greg
1970 births
Living people
American men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Wisconsin
Basketball players from Wisconsin
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
High school basketball coaches in Wisconsin
Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball coaches
People from Iowa County, Wisconsin
Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coaches
Wisconsin–Platteville Pioneers baseball players
Wisconsin–Platteville Pioneers men's basketball coaches