Renowned college basketball coach Bo Ryan enters Philly Sports Hall of Fame
PHILADELPHIA (BVM) — Bo Ryan on Nov. 5 was inducted into the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, becoming one of 17 members of the Class of 2020. Ryan is from nearby Chester, Pa., and he played college basketball at Wilkes University and then became a coaching legend in the state of Wisconsin. The virtual event, “Inducting from a Distance”, included a speech by Ryan after being recognized for several of his major accomplishments.
Ryan’s first college head coaching job was at UW-Platteville where he led the Pioneers’ men’s basketball team to a .823 winning percentage and four Division III national titles from 1984-1999. His next two seasons he coached UW-Milwaukee to winning records before landing the head coaching job for the Wisconsin Badgers from 2001-2015. While in Madison, Ryan’s teams reached the NCAA Tournament 13 times including back-to-back Final Four appearances in his last two seasons.
“I would like to take this opportunity to thank the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame, for allowing me to be inducted into one heck of a class,” Ryan said at the start of his speech. “There is something about the Philly area that has been embedded in my heart and in my soul.
“I could remember a quote by a good friend of mine who works with the Sports Legends Hall of Fame, he reminded me that our career paths are shaped by the networks around us, and I know from my coaching career, that my influences came directly from the Philadelphia area, and I’m extremely proud to represent those people.”
The Philly area helped produce a 2017 College Basketball Hall of Fame coach that won four Big Ten regular season titles (2002, 2003, 2008 and 2015) and three Big Ten tournament championships (2004, 2008 and 2015). Ryan was a four-time Big Ten Coach of the Year (2002, 2003, 2013 and 2015) and twice claimed the national coach of the year award (2007 and 2008).
“It all started with my dad who took me to every game he possibly could,” Ryan said. “The first time I ever attended a sports professional game in the city of Philadelphia was at Shibe Park, Connie Mack Stadium.”
Ryan continued to describe that he will never forget walking into the stadium and looking at the green grass, which he points out living in a row house at the time, it was way more green than anything he had ever seen.
“We [eventually] became diehard Philly fans,” he noted. “From there, I remember going to Franklin Field. My dad also took me to a Philadelphia Warriors game, and then they left, but that was devastating.
“From there, as far as professional sports, there’s been a lot of great teams and a lot of great memories, uh and a lot of heart breaks–but that’s athletics.”
Ryan said he will never forget the influence that a coach has, especially after what he experienced with former Temple coach Harry Litwack, who recruited Ryan while he played at Chester High School.
“I can remember after the game that we had lost to go into the finals, him coming into the locker room,” Ryan said. “He put his arm around me and said, ‘You know you’re going to be OK, you guys played hard,’ and he gave us a nice talk and he especially picked me up.”
His speech ended with praise towards the Philadelphia sports teams that he said made him a better person, and thanks to a particular group of people that also made him who he is today.
“I just can’t thank the sports writers enough, because what they developed by amusing us and informing us with all the stories and information, as a kid growing up that influence projected my career path.”
