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Why Maureen Magarity ended her basketball retirement after two years
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- Why Maureen Magarity ended her basketball retirement after two years
Maureen Magarity was formally introduced as the 10th University of Vermont women's basketball head coach at an event held on Tuesday, April 14.
Vermont found its newest head coach in nearly 48 hours after Alisa Kresge resigned on Saturday, April 11 to take the Richmond head coach job , inside its own building.
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This was never a set in stone coach-in-waiting scenario at least on Magarity's end.
"I always had joked that I thought we had two of the best women's basketball coaches in the country on our staff," Vermont's athletic director Jeff Schulman said. "One was our women's basketball coach (Kresge) and the other our major gift officer for athletics (Magarity)."
Schulman made clear that Magarity was his top choice especially with the Catamounts opening coming at the end of the coaching carousel cycle and the university needing to act fast. He always believed in Magarity even when she doubted herself.
"Working for Jeff Schulman is a no-brainer," Magarity said. "We had some conversations ... he kept saying, 'You are the right person for this job to be a leader.'"
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More: How much will Maureen Magarity make as Vermont women's basketball coach?
Magarity came to the decision to take the job late in the evening on Sunday, April 12 after discussing it with her husband, Vermont men's basketball coach John Becker.
She also is very familiar with Patrick Gym having watched many men's and women's basketball games over the last two seasons and being a visiting coach during her 10-year stint leading New Hampshire.
"It would have to take a really special place for me to get back into coaching and Burlington and UVM is truly magical," Magarity said.
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Magarity decided to return to the college sidelines after a two-year retirement in part due to the electric atmosphere of Patrick Gym, her relationship with Schulman and her daughters. Magarity's two daughters, Charlotte, 13, and Caroline, 10, played a role in why now was the best time to return to the sideline.
"This was a huge reason I wanted to take this job is to (give my daughters) role models like you (the players) girls and for them to grow up around you guys all the time," Magarity said. "That's what I missed the most about coaching is having 15 big sisters (for my daughters) to look up to all the time."
Many of the Vermont women's basketball players were in attendance including Green Mountain state native Catherine Gilwee. The next step for Magarity is to continue meeting with players to figure out who is returning to Catamount Country this November.
Contact Judith Altneu at JAltneu@usatodayco.com . Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter: @ Judith_Altneu .
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Vermont introduces Maureen Magarity as new women's basketball coach
