Bo’s boy now the boss in Green Bay
GREEN BAY, WIS. » The University of Wisconsin at Green Bay is turning its basketball program over to someone with long ties to the state university system and bloodlines to Delaware County.
Will Ryan, the son of former Wisconsin coach and Chester High graduate Bo Ryan, has been selected to lead the men’s basketball program at UWGB.
Athletic director Charles Guthrie announced Sunday thattheschoolandRyanhave agreed to a deal in principle, though final contract details are still being worked out.
“Hiring leaders is about getting the right fit at the right time, and I have no doubt that Coach Ryan is exactly the right person to lead our program today and into the future,’’ Guthrie said in a statement.
The 41-year-old Ryan comes to Green Bay after posting a 14-13 record in his lone season as the head coach at Division II program Wheeling in West Virginia. He previously worked as an assistant at Ohio University (2014-19) and North Dakota State (2007-14).
Ryan, whose late grandfather Butch Ryan helped found the Aston Athletic Association, worked on his father’s Wisconsin staff from 2002-07, where he served as a director of basketball operations and video coordinator. Bo Ryan, a 1965 Chester grad and point guard who helped lead the Clippers to a 25-1 record his senior year, was Wisconsin’s coach from 2001-15 after previously coaching at the University of WisconsinPlatteville and University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Will Ryan replaces Linc
Darner, who went 92-80 and posted a winning record in all but one of his five seasons at Green Bay. After the Phoenix went 17-16 this season, Green Bay officials announced last month that the university and coach had “decided to part ways.”