The Cavalier Daily reported Tuesday that long-time Virginia women's basketball coach Debbie Ryan had resigned from her position after 34 years at the helm of the squad. It was a fairly straightforward and fact-based story, but I urge you to read between the lines.
I believe that Ryan's decision to step down could not have been solely her own.
During her borderline surreal press conference Monday, Ryan refused to answer a question regarding how long she had been considering her decision. Additionally, Ryan said nothing about why she had gone back on a statement she made earlier this season that indicated she wanted to coach for "10 more years." Furthermore, the coach did not rule out coaching for another school in the future.
All of these responses - or lack thereof - prompted the gathered press to scribble furiously, and only served to increase the tension in an already tense room.
Following Ryan's remarks, Athletic Director Craig Littlepage said nothing substantial and couldn't even come up with a word to describe his reaction to Ryan's resignation. He later discounted using the word "shocked."
Littlepage and Ryan both began their careers at Virginia at almost the same time. Ryan was named head coach in 1977 after serving as an assistant for two years. Littlepage, meanwhile, began as an assistant for the men's basketball team in 1976. Throughout Ryan's tenure, it seemed that the two had an amiable relationship.
But now, it seems to me that their relationship has changed. Every time I glanced at Littlepage during the press conference, he was not looking at Ryan. If that's not a sign of awkward tension, I don't know what is.
For better or worse, Ryan represented exactly what a coach at Virginia should be. While Ryan certainly was proud of her accomplishments as a coach, she also made sure to acknowledge the women who passed through her program and have become doctors and lawyers and productive members of society. She genuinely cared about the future endeavors of the women she coached.
Some may argue that Ryan is a relic of a different age of coaching and that her coaching style just doesn't fit in today's basketball environment. In her press conference, she suggested women's college basketball is heading in the wrong direction. Ryan believes colleges are recruiting the wrong kind of players. That certainly hasn't made recruiting any easier for her own team, which hasn't advanced past the second round of the NCAA tournament since 1999.
But regardless of the team's success during the past 10 years or Ryan's ability to recruit, Ryan is still a member of the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame for a reason, and she almost single-handedly built the Virginia program from the ground up.
She deserved better than what was, in my opinion, a public and blatant forced resignation.
Debbie Ryan gave the University of Virginia 34 years.
What did Littlepage give her? Nothing.
Read More
72 years in the making, men’s golf’s first ACC title comes in dramatic fashion
By Casey Reims | 9 hours ago"We were dead," Sargent said. "We were beat."
With 10 games left in the regular season, Virginia baseball must be near-perfect
By Emory Huffman , Xander Tilock and Ryan Weiner | YesterdayVirginia has reached the witching hour.
Live tracker: the men’s basketball offseason
By Michael Liebermann , Emory Huffman and Xander Tilock | YesterdayA frenetic offseason likely awaits.
