Ralph Willard

Ralph Daniel Willard (born March 28, 1946) is an American former basketball coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Western Kentucky University from 1990 to 1994, the University of Pittsburgh from 1994 to 1999, and the College of the Holy Cross from 1999 to 2009, compiling a career college basketball coaching record of 336–241. Willard was also an assistant athletic director at Holy Cross.

Career After graduating from Holy Cross, Willard was drafted to the United States Army. Willard finished basic training when negotiations began for the Paris Peace Accords, so Willard was reassigned to Fort Benning instead of being sent overseas to Vietnam. At Fort Benning, Willard assisted soldiers receiving treatment for wartime injuries with paperwork. From 1972 to 1984, Willard was a coach at St. Dominic High. During his tenure there he led his team to the 1980 state championship, posted a 162–89 record, and earned five conference coach of the year honors. Willard's success at Holy Cross continued as he led the school to two more conference titles and subsequent trips to the NCAA tournament in 2002 and 2003. The following season, Willard became director of operations at Louisville.

Personal life Willard is married to the former Dorothy Schreiber and has three children, including college basketball coach Kevin Willard, who was head coach at Seton Hall from 2010 to 2022, Currently at Villanova 2025+ and also was the head coach at Maryland. The Willards have lived in Bonita Springs, Florida since around 2012.

In 2005, Willard was diagnosed with prostate cancer. In 2008, he underwent robot-assisted open heart surgery to repair a leaking mitral valve. He has successfully recovered from both and continues to coach today.

Head coaching record

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