Long-time University of Colorado women聮s basketball coach Ceal Barry, who announced Feb. 24 she is retiring after 22 seasons at the reins of the Buffalo program, was named to the vacant assistant athletic director for student services position by CU Athletic Director Jack Lengyel.
Barry, who will turn 50 April 1, will coach the team through the remainder of the season and will retire having coached the most games, matches or tournaments -- 666 wins including Wednesday聮s game at Texas -- and the sixth most seasons of any sport in CU athletic history. Her 426 victories also are the most by any coach at the school.
This year聮s team, with just two seniors and five freshmen or sophomores getting prominent playing time, has struggled to an 8-17 record, including a 1-13 mark in Big 12 Conference games. Two regular season games and the Big 12 tournament remain on the schedule.
Lengyel said associate athletic director Karen Morrison will coordinate the search for Barry聮s replacement and a successor is expected to be named prior to the Women聮s Final Four April 3-5. The assistant AD/student services position had been vacant since Dec. 31.
Barry took over for the late Russell 聯Sox聰 Walseth when then CU Athletic director Eddie Crowder hired her as the fifth head coach in CU women聮s basketball history on April 12, 1983.
Barry lettered in basketball for four years at the University of Kentucky under coach Debbie Yow. She compiled an 83-42 record in four seasons as head coach at Cincinnati. After 22 years at CU she leaves with a 426-240 record, 12 NCAA tournament appearances (including six times in the Sweet 16 and three times in the Elite Eight). She had 13 seasons with 20 wins, five conference championships and assorted coach of the year honors for five different seasons.
She became the 24th coach in women聮s NCAA history to reach 500 career wins and her all-time record of 509-282 and .643 winning percentage remain among the all-time best, ranking 20th among active coaches.
Her teams have posted a 190-133 record in conference play. Thirteen of her teams finished first, second or third in the league standings for the regular season. Barry has graduated all but three, four-year players (well over a 95 percent graduation rate) and has coached 82 Academic All-Conference student-athletes.
Prior to the formation of the Big 12 Conference in 1996, Barry was the Big Eight Coach of the Year four times (1989, 1993, 1994, and 1995) and the District V Coach of the Year in 1993 and 1995. The 1995 squad posted a school record 30 wins. She led her teams to four regular season Big Eight titles and five postseason tournament titles, the last in the inaugural Big 12 Tournament in 1997.
In her 13 seasons, she was 184-96 when leading the Buffs against Big Eight foes. Barry won more regular-season games (118), league titles (4), tournament titles (4), coach of the year honors (4) and coached more newcomers of the year (4) than any other league coach. Barry聮s teams tied for first for the most NCAA tournament appearances with seven.
Barry聮s Buffs had three wins over then-defending national champions, with the most shocking coming in 1993 in CU聮s first-ever Sweet 16 appearance, an 80-67 win over Stanford in the NCAA West Regional semifinal in Missoula, Mont.
Following her second consecutive Big Eight title in 1994, the United States Basketball Writers Association and Basketball Times Magazine named Barry National Coach of the Year. She was inducted into the Colorado Sportswomen Hall of Fame the same year. Twice, Barry has had her name on the finalist list for the Naismith Award for Coaching, those honors coming in the last two seasons.
In 1995 she was presented with one of the Women聮s Basketball Coaches Association聮s highest honors, the Carol Eckman Award.
Barry also coached the Big 12 All-Stars on a tour of Europe following the 2001 season. She was an assistant coach for the 1996 United States Olympic Basketball team that won the gold medal.
聯There is no question that I will miss the relationships I have with the players," Barry said. "There is something very special between a coach and a player. The emotional highs and lows, the push and the pull, the love and the hate -- only a coach can understand that. I will miss that tremendously, and it will never, ever be replaced."
The remaining two regular season games are at home, this Saturday (Feb. 26) against No. 6 Baylor (22-3) and next Wednesday (March 2) against Nebraska. Both games tip off at 7 p.m., with the Nebraska game designated as 聯Senior Night with a Special Tribute to Coach Ceal Barry聰 at the Coors Events Center.
The Nebraska game is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Coors Events/Conference Center on the CU-Boulder campus. Tickets can be purchased at the game.