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 Subdivis ...

. 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

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 ...

; 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 of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

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 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 and the

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

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Michigan vs. Wisconsin - Box Score - February 20, 2022

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

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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
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 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