Bruce Pearl joins elite list of coaches to retire since 2020
The college basketball world was taken by storm on Monday with Bruce Pearl, one of the game’s best coaches, announcing his retirement from Auburn just a season removed from a Final Four appearance.
His decision to walk away adds to a growing list of coaches who have stepped down during this new era of NIL and the transfer portal. But who are some of the biggest names who have recently called it quits? Today, we’ll be going over nine legends who have retired since 2020:
Roy Williams, North Carolina
Retire date: April 1, 2021.
It’s hard to have a better resume than Williams. Across 18 seasons at North Carolina, he led the Tar Heels to a 485-163 record, three national titles and nine ACC regular season crowns. He also coached Kansas for 15 seasons, taking the Jayhawks to four Final Fours before leaving for Chapel Hill in April 2003. Williams currently has the fifth most all-time wins for a men’s head coach at 903 and is a hall-of-famer for a reason.
Jay Wright, Villanova
Retire date: April 20, 2022.
Nobody knew Wright was going to call it quits when he did, but after a run to the Final Four in 2022 with Villanova, he walked away from the program as one of the greatest coaches to ever do it. In 21 seasons, Wright amassed a record of 520-197, won two national championships and was named BIG EAST coach of the year six times. He was inducted into the hall-of-fame in 2021 and currently serves as Special Assistant to the President at Villanova.
Jim Calhoun, UConn
Retire date: Nov. 18, 2021
Originally, Calhoun walked away from the UConn program in 2012 in the midst of dealing with skin and prostate cancer. He came out of retirement in 2017 to spearhead the building of St. Joseph’s DIII men’s basketball program, but he again retired in 2021. Calhoun is mostly known for his 26 seasons at Connecticut, where he won three national titles. All in all, Calhoun’s 920 wins at UConn and Northeastern rank fourth all-time in men’s basketball coaching history.
Jim Boeheim, Syracuse
Retire date: March 8, 2023
Hours after an ACC Tournament loss to Wake Forest, Boeheim officially announced his retirement from Syracuse in 2023 after 47 years as the head coach. Boeheim has a storied career, taking Syracuse to March Madness 35 times. His 58 NCAA Tournament wins ranks fourth all-time, and his total victories of 1,015 ranks second. He’s also a rare commodity with his 47 years at Syracuse ranking second all-time in terms of longevity at a single school. Boeheim led Syracuse to five Final Fours, including its only national title with Carmelo Anthony in 2003.
Tony Bennett, Virginia
Retire date: Oct. 17, 2024
Similar to Pearl, Bennett shockingly announced his retirement right before the season last year, citing the “state of the game” and him not being 100 percent into it anymore as reasons why he walked away. Still, Bennett had a phenomenal career, winning the national title in 2019 one year removed from being the first No. 1 seed to lose to a No. 16 seed in NCAA Tournament history. In 15 total seasons at Virginia, Bennett won six ACC regular season titles, was named Naismith Coach of the Year twice and saw 11 players drafted to the NBA.
Jim Larranaga, Miami
Retire date: Dec. 26, 2024
Only six coaches in the history of college basketball have led two different programs to a Final Four appearance. Larranaga is one of them, and he’s done it with two unlikely candidates, George Mason and Miami. That alone makes him a college basketball legend. Besides helping Miami reach its first-ever Final Four, Larranaga totaled 274 wins as the Canes head man and led Miami to six NCAA Tournament appearances and four Sweet Sixteen’s. Larranaga also mentioned navigating the “new world” in his retirement announcement.
Leonard Hamilton, Florida State
Retire date: Feb. 3, 2025
Known as one of the best recruiters of all-time, Hamilton stepped down from Florida State at the end of last season and will surely be remembered as a Seminole great. In his 23-year tenure, Hamilton became Florida State’s winningest head coach and also finished his career top five in ACC all-time victories. He led Florida State to eight NCAA Tournament appearances, with the Seminoles best finish being an Elite Eight loss to Michigan in 2018.
Lon Kruger, Oklahoma
Retire date: March 25, 2021
As one of three coaches to lead five different programs to the NCAA Tournament, Kruger may be one of the most underrated head coaches of all-time. All he does is win, totaling a record of 674-432 across 35 seasons as a head coach, including 20 trips to the NCAA Tournament and two Final Fours. Specifically at Oklahoma, Kruger led the Sooners to seven NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2016 Final Four with Buddy Heild.
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