University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Kevin Borseth gives emotional retirement speech
GREEN BAY, Wis. (WFRV) – At a press conference Wednesday morning in Green Bay, legendary women’s basketball coach Kevin Borseth announced his retirement with an emotional speech.
Local Five was at the press conference as University of Wisconsin-Green Bay’s Chancellor Michael Alexander, UWGB Athletic Director Josh Moon, and Borseth all took the time to celebrate his long career.
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Chancellor Alexander took to the stage first to announce Borseth’s official retirement and talked about everything from his accomplishments and sustained excellence to his passion for the game, his players, the university, and the people within the Green Bay community.
Chancellor Alexander says Borseth is an incredibly easy guy to root for and points out how his (Borseth) hard work and passion inspire the chancellor every day before making the following important announcement.
“Forevermore, When someone parks behind us in the Kress Center They’re going to make a turn onto Kevin Borseth Way so that everybody who comes into this facility as long as it is here and beyond is going to know the excellence that coach Borseth brought to this university for over 20 years.”
UWGB Chancellor Michael Alexander
UWGB Athletic Director Josh Moon took the stage next and talked about Borseth’s accomplishments before stating that an argument could be made for Borseth having the biggest impact on UWGB since its inception.
Moon talked about Borseth’s unmatched legacy at UWGB including his 800-plus career wins, and 13 NCAA Tournament appearances. He adds that the timing of Borseth’s decision to retire is an example of his character and selflessness as the team is set up for a bright future.
“Going out this year knowing what we have coming back for this team, a 27-win team with a group of super seniors that are just amazing. This team is really special, we have a group of leaders here today and they’re so excited about what’s going to happen next year and where they’re going to take this program.”
An emotional Boreseth himself took the stage next and described the difficulty of making the decision and then having to have that discussion with both the Chancellor and Moon and then also with the team.
“I’ve spent 42 years of my life… I spent 42 years of my life doing this and… It’s not easy. It’s something I really love to do. You know I was, if I had to do anything else I don’t think I wouldn’t have been able to have half the success that I’ve been able to have on the basketball floor. And it’s been a thrill it really has been. To get up tomorrow morning and think I’m no longer the head coach… It’s going to hurt.”
UWGB Womens Basketball Coach Kevin Borseth
Borseth then went through the history of his long career thanking many people along the way including each of his bosses as he ventured from Gogebic Community College to Michigan Tech to Green Bay to Michigan and then back to Green Bay.
During his speech, Borseth named the two most influential people in his life. The first one he said was his mother who he said was his biggest fan and would often leave notes on his desk telling him about all the things he should have done to make the team better. He says his mom used to always tell him to “get out of the mud” and he named the second most influential person in his life as his wife who “pulled him out of the mud.”
Borseth continued on talking about his growth as a coach throughout the years and credited that to the players as he says he learned far more from the players than what they learned from him.
Borseth wrapped up his speech by thanking the city, the fans, the parents, and the players. He mentioned that in his discussion with the team, he told them he had taken them as far as he could and that he is excited to watch and see how much farther the next coach can take them.
As for his retirement itself, he says the reasoning behind it comes down to age and the continuity of the programming citing the difficulty of recruiting with a potential retirement looming.
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Borseth retiring after 21 seasons in Green Bay leaves him as the 16th all-time winningest head coach in DI women’s basketball history with a career record of 821-316.
He finishes his career with 13 NCAA Tournament bids and was named Conference Coach of the Year nine times.
Looking to the future, Borseth says he hopes to be involved with the process and selection of a new coach. His official retirement date from the team will be on June 30.
