Ayrton Oneill
The Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team has a rich history in college basketball, with a national championship win in 1977 and 37 NCAA tournament appearances. The team has been led by several notable coaches over the years, including Al McGuire, who brought the program to national prominence and earned a championship title in 1977. More recently, the team was coached by Buzz Williams, who led the Golden Eagles to multiple NCAA tournament appearances. In 2014, Steve Wojciechowski took over as head coach, and in 2021, Shaka Smart was hired to lead the program. The Marquette Golden Eagles play their home games in downtown Milwaukee and compete in the Big East Conference.
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What You'll Learn
Steve Wojciechowski was Marquette's head coach from 2014 to 2021
Steve Wojciechowski, also known as Wojo, was Marquette's head coach from 2014 to 2021. During his time at Marquette, Wojo established a "Win Every Day" philosophy, which was extremely successful on the recruiting trail, with the university assembling nationally ranked recruiting classes in 2015, 2016, and 2020.
Prior to his role at Marquette, Wojo played and coached under head coach Mike Krzyzewski at Duke University, serving as an assistant coach since the 1999-2000 season and later being promoted to associate head coach in 2008. As a player and coach at Duke, Wojo was part of the university's winning tradition, with the Blue Devils posting a remarkable 441-92 record and consistently competing in the NCAA tournament.
Wojo's success continued at Marquette, where he amassed an overall record of 128-95 and 59-68 in the Big East. He helped Marquette secure two NCAA Tournament at-large bids and a National Invitational Tournament finals appearance in 2017. Wojo's squads ended the 2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons with a strong performance, losing only six out of their last seven games in each season.
In March 2021, Marquette University hired Shaka Smart to replace Wojo as the Golden Eagles' head coach. Despite parting ways, Wojo's impact at Marquette is undeniable, and he will be remembered for his dedication to the university's basketball program and its student-athletes.
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Shaka Smart replaced Wojciechowski in 2021
The Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team represents Marquette University in NCAA Division I college basketball. The team plays its home games at the Fiserv Forum in downtown Milwaukee.
On March 26, 2021, Marquette University hired Shaka Smart to replace Steve Wojciechowski as the Golden Eagles' head coach. Smart, who spent the previous six years at Texas, became the program's first hire with more than one season of head coaching experience since Mike Deane in 1995. He also became the first Black head coach in the program's history.
In his 12 seasons as a head coach, Smart had accumulated an impressive 272-142 record. His fame rose in 2011 when he led the VCU Rams to their first Final Four appearance, playing an exciting style of frenetic, full-court defense nicknamed "Havoc." However, his time at Texas ended without an NCAA Tournament win.
Smart expressed gratitude to President Michael Lovell and Athletic Director Bill Scholl for the opportunity to lead the Marquette basketball program. He also shared his excitement about returning to Wisconsin, where he had attended high school, and beginning to work with the student-athletes.
The Marquette administration, including President Lovell and Athletic Director Scholl, expressed confidence in Smart's ability to mentor and develop student-athletes. They praised his coaching expertise, commitment to results, and alignment with the Catholic, Jesuit mission of the university.
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Buzz Williams was head coach from 2008-2014
Brent Langdon "Buzz" Williams was the head coach of the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team from 2008 to 2014. Williams was born on September 1, 1972, and grew up in Van Alstyne, Texas. He earned a bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Oklahoma City University in 1994 and a master's degree in the same field from Texas A&M University–Kingsville in 1999.
Williams was officially hired as Marquette's head coach on April 8, 2008. During his time at Marquette, Williams led the team to significant successes. In the 2008–09 season, he coached Marquette to a 25–10 record, which included 12 BIG EAST victories—a school record. The Golden Eagles advanced to the second round of the NCAA Championship and were ranked among the nation's top 25 teams throughout the campaign.
In the 2009–10 season, Williams guided Marquette to a 22–12 record. This campaign ended with a close loss to the 11th-seeded Washington Huskies in the First Round of the 2010 NCAA tournament. The following season (2010–11), Williams led the Golden Eagles back to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2003. His team went 22–15, including a 9–9 Big East Conference record, and lost in the quarterfinals of the 2011 Big East men's basketball tournament to Louisville.
In the 2012–13 season, the Golden Eagles added "Elite Eight" and "Conference Champions" to their list of accomplishments. They posted a 26-9 overall record, highlighted by the BIG EAST Conference regular-season title and a trip to the Elite Eight in Washington, D.C. Williams' final season at Marquette was his worst, finishing 17–15 with a loss to Xavier in the Big East tournament. Despite this, Williams is known for taking struggling and mid-tier programs to new heights, and he left a solid foundation at Marquette for his successor, Steve Wojciechowski.
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Al McGuire was head coach from 1964 to 1977
Al McGuire was the head coach of the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team from 1964 to 1977.
McGuire began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College, before taking his first head coaching job at Belmont Abbey College in 1957. In 1964, McGuire became head coach at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he remained for 13 years. During his tenure, McGuire led the team to significant success, including the NIT Championship in 1970 and a Final Four appearance in 1974. In his final season as a collegiate head coach in 1977, McGuire led Marquette to its only NCAA basketball championship. McGuire's teams at Marquette won 295 games and lost just 80, with 11 postseason appearances, including 9 NCAA tournaments.
McGuire was known for his colourful personality and psychological tactics during games, such as drawing technical fouls from officials. He also served as the athletic director for the Marquette basketball program from 1973 onwards. McGuire's final assistant coaches, hired in 1961 and 1971 respectively, were Hank Raymonds and Rick Majerus, who McGuire credited as key to the team's success.
After his coaching career, McGuire became a popular broadcaster and commentator for NBC and CBS Sports. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992, along with his brother Dick, and into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. The Al McGuire Center, which includes a statue in his honour, was opened on the Marquette campus in 2004.
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Marquette has had 3 National Coaches of the Year
The Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team has a rich history in NCAA Division I college basketball, with numerous accolades and a strong record of appearances in the NCAA tournament. The team has had notable success under several coaches, and one of the standout achievements is having had three National Coaches of the Year.
The first of these was Al McGuire, who took on the head coach role in 1964 and transformed the program, bringing it to national prominence. McGuire's achievements include an NIT Championship in 1970 and a Final Four appearance in 1974, where he became the first coach ejected from a championship game. In his final season as a collegiate head coach, McGuire led Marquette to its only NCAA basketball championship in 1977, defeating Dean Smith's North Carolina Tar Heels. This victory was particularly remarkable given that the team had seven losses going into the tournament, the most losses for an eventual champion at that time. McGuire was named National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in 1971.
Following McGuire's departure, his assistants Hank Raymonds and Rick Majerus each took on the role of head coach. While it is unclear if they received any National Coach of the Year awards, they continued McGuire's legacy, with the team making further appearances in the Final Four in 1977 and 2003.
Fast forward to 2021, and Marquette University hired Shaka Smart as the new head coach of the Golden Eagles. Smart has since been named National Coach of the Year by the Associated Press in 2023, adding to Marquette's tally of prestigious coaching awards. This honour was bestowed upon him after a remarkable season in which MU was predicted to finish ninth in the 11-team league but instead tied a conference record with 17 victories. Smart also received national coach of the year awards from the United States Basketball Writers Association and the National Association of Basketball Coaches.
The Golden Eagles have thus benefited from the leadership of three exceptional coaches who have been recognised for their outstanding contributions to the team's success. These coaches have left a lasting impact on the program and helped establish Marquette as a force to be reckoned with in college basketball.
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Frequently asked questions
Shaka Smart is the current head coach of the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team.
The head coach before Shaka Smart was Steve Wojciechowski, who was replaced in March 2021.
Steve Wojciechowski was the head coach of the Marquette Golden Eagles men's basketball team for seven seasons, from 2014 to 2021.
The head coach before Steve Wojciechowski was Buzz Williams, who left Marquette for Virginia Tech in 2014.
