Muffet McGraw walked into a familiar room in an unusual manner.
The former Notre Dame women's basketball coach emerged through the entrance of the media room at Purcell Pavilion with a huge smile on her face. There were many instances during her 33 years in South Bend when she wasn't so chipper.
"I wasn't always this happy," a still smiling McGraw quipped as she sat down in front of a jumble of microphones at a table on the dais.
Sunday was different. Sunday was a time for celebration and reflection. McGraw became just the second Notre Dame basketball coach (men's or women's) to be inducted into the Fighting Irish ring of honor, joining Digger Phelps.
McGraw's stay in the press room lasted a shorter amount of time than her pregame ceremony, and rightfully so. She spoke for nearly 10 minutes on the court and thanked everyone from the Notre Dame administration to former players, assistant coaches, family, fans and even the Fighting Irish band.
“I just never wanted to be anywhere else," McGraw said. "This was my dream, and I got to live my dream. And somehow it was even better than I ever imagined it would be.”
A video preceded McGraw's speech. It showed highlights from Notre Dame's two national championships with McGraw at the helm in 2000-01 and 2017-18. It included comments from her son, Murphy, and current Irish head coach Niele Ivey among others.
Ivey's name, in addition to those of six of McGraw's other former players, hangs in the rafters of Purcell Pavilion. The names and numbers are a reminder of the national titles, nine Final Fours, 848 total wins and 67 NCAA Tournament victories Notre Dame racked up during McGraw's tenure.
Banners are a way to forever remember those accomplishments. So are statues. McGraw will have one soon. Notre Dame director of athletics Jack Swarbrick announced that news to a roaring crowd at the end of the pregame ceremony.
"I was overwhelmed with the word of the statue," McGraw said. "That was something that — I never even imagined it. People would kind of joke about it and I was like, 'That's a football thing. That's not going to happen.'"
Oh, but it will.
Sunday was just the start of McGraw's immortalization in Notre Dame basketball lore. Banners hang forever. Statues stand forever. Legacies last forever.
Notre Dame's current players, clad in special lime green shoes and warmup shirts with a gold silhouette of McGraw in a crouched coaching position, know all of that. Their 78-41 win over Purdue Fort Wayne on Sunday was another small part of them trying to write their own blue and gold stories.
And as they do so, they'll never forget the one McGraw closed the book on when she retired in April 2020.
----
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, Blue & Gold Illustrated.
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel.
• Sign up for Blue & Gold's news alerts and daily newsletter.
• Subscribe to our podcast on Apple Podcasts.
• Follow us on Twitter: @BGINews, @MikeTSinger, @PatrickEngel_, @tbhorka, @GregLadky, and @ToddBurlage.
• Like us on Facebook.
