Mike Carey Retires

West Virginia University women's basketball coach Mike Carey announces his retirement

The winningest coach in West Virginia University women's basketball Mike Carey announced his retirement Wednesday afternoon. 

“I want to thank all my current and former players and staff for 21 great years at West Virginia University. This has been a lot of fun, and I am certainly proud of what we were able to build and accomplish,”  Carey said in a reasonable by the WVU Athletics Communications Department. “I also want to thank the state of West Virginia and our incredible fans. The support and loyalty throughout my tenure at WVU, through both highs and lows, makes me proud to be from this state. I look forward to being WVU women’s basketball’s biggest fan, alongside the fans who supported me all these years. It has been a privilege to lead this program, but I believe this is the right time in my life to turn the program over to someone else.

“I have had a wonderful career coaching at the high school, Division II and Power 5 levels, but I want to now take some time for myself and family, to sit back, breathe and enjoy what has been a long and fun career. However, I am most excited to spend time with my family. I have five grandkids that are growing up so fast, and I look forward to spending much more time with them.”

Carey led the Mountaineers to 11 NCAA Tournaments, five WNIT appearances and a program-record 13 straight postseason appearances from 2007-19. Carey’s teams advanced to the NCAA second round on 10 occasions and reached the WNIT championship game twice.

He was named Big East Conference Coach of the Year in 2004 after posting a 21-11 overall record with a 10-6 league mark, and again in 2010 after a 29-6 season and a 13-3 Big East record. Carey garnered Big 12 Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2014, when he guided the Mountaineers to a school-record 30-5 season and a 16-2 conference record.

“I want to thank Mike for 21 years of dedication to this University. He was willing to take over our program at a difficult time in its history and made it nationally competitive,” Director of Athletics Shane Lyons said. “Mike and I have had several discussions prior to this season about continuing to lead our program in the future, and each time he wanted to wait and be patient to make sure that was what he wanted to do, so I know he has been thinking about this for quite some time.

“He has been coaching for almost 40 years, and his decision comes down to wanting to spend time with his family and enjoying life away from the rigors of coaching major college basketball. I am appreciative of his work and want nothing but the best for him. He has raised the bar for our women’s basketball program, and I am excited for him and the future of our team.”

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