Bo Ryan to be inducted into Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

PLATTEVILLE, Wis. – University of Wisconsin-Platteville's legendary former coach Bo Ryan will be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame it was announced Saturday. Ryan developed the Pioneers men's basketball team into an elite program during his 15-year tenure which included four NCAA Division III national championships. 

From 1984-99, Ryan led the Pioneers to a 353-75 record and his 82.2 winning percentage was the best in the history of NCAA Division III basketball. Ryan's Pioneers captured eight conference titles and nine consecutive NCAA playoff berths. During his tenure, UW-Platteville won national titles in 1991, 1995, 1998 and 1999, with two teams finishing the season undefeated. The 1992 squad also advanced to the Final Four, where it placed third. Overall, the Pioneers were 30-5 in NCAA tournament play under Ryan's leadership.

In his final 12 seasons at UW-Platteville, Ryan led his team to a 314-37 record, including a phenomenal 157-7 record in Williams Fieldhouse. The Pioneers were the winningest team of all college basketball during the 1990s, with a 266-27 record (90.8 percent) and were followed by Division II Virginia Union (254-52, 83 percent) and Division I Kansas (285-60, 82.8 percent). The 1996-97 team set the all-time NCAA Division III record for fewest points allowed at 47.5 ppg which still stands to this day. 

Ryan was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division III Coach of the Year four times and the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) Coach of the Year on six occasions.  

In January of 2007, the UW-Platteville court in Williams Fieldhouse was officially dedicated and named in Ryan's honor. 

After the 1998-99 season, Ryan took the head coach position at UW-Milwaukee where he served for two seasons before taking over the helm of the Badgers at the University of Wisconsin. Ryan collected the most wins in school history (364) at Wisconsin as the Badgers captured four Big Ten regular season titles, three Big Ten Tournament championships and advanced to two NCAA Division I Final Fours. 

The induction for the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 2024 class will be on August 17 in Springfield, Massachusetts.