OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — After leading the Creighton basketball program to unprecedented heights over his 16 years as coach, Greg McDermott announced Monday he would retire at the end of the season and turn the program over to right-hand man Alan Huss.
McDermott will step down after the Bluejays' final game in the College Basketball Crown tournament next month.
“It has been an incredible honor to lead the Creighton men’s basketball program for the past 16 years,” the 61-year-old McDermott said in a statement. “I’m very proud of the young men that have proudly worn the Bluejay uniform and represented our program in a first-class manner. Witnessing their growth and development on and off the playing floor was especially gratifying.
“I’m deeply grateful for the support of my family, our players, coaching staff and support staff, as well as the presidents, athletic directors, and all the University and athletic administrators. The support of the Omaha community consistently packing our arena with 17,000 fans has created many fond memories.”
McDermott is 365-188 at Creighton and 514-319 in 25 years as a Division I head coach. Only one of his Creighton teams finished below .500, but the Bluejays are 15-17 heading into their April 2 game against Rutgers in the Crown in Las Vegas.
McDermott had losing records each of his four seasons at Iowa State before Creighton hired him in 2010 after Dana Altman, then the school's all-time wins leader, left for Oregon.
“Mac,” as he's known around the program, scored big with his first Creighton recruit, though no one knew it at the time. The recruit was Doug McDermott, who was committed to play at his father's alma mater, Northern Iowa. Ben Jacobson, the UNI coach and friend of the McDermott family, released Doug from his letter of intent so he could play for his dad.
Doug went on to become a three-time Associated Press All-American (2012-14) and score more than 3,000 career points while leading the Bluejays through their transition from the mid-major Missouri Valley Conference to the Big East.
Under Greg McDermott, Creighton has had 14 seasons of 20-plus wins and 10 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. The Bluejays made the Elite Eight for the first time in 2023 and also reached the Sweet 16 in 2021 and 2024.
“For those of us who have been part of the ‘new’ Big East Conference the past 13 years, Greg McDermott and Creighton basketball are synonymous,” Big East commissioner Val Ackerman said. “Starting with the Jays’ appearance in the 2014 Big East title game at Madison Square Garden, Creighton has consistently proven its place among the NCAA’s top tier, with 20-plus-win seasons, regular NCAA tournament appearances, All-American players and a fan base that’s among the most passionate in the sport.”
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Creighton endured some hard times off the court under McDermott.
In 2019, assistant coach Preston Murphy was named in an FBI investigation into college basketball and was alleged to have taken a $6,000 bribe to steer prospective pros to aspiring business manager Christian Dawkins. An undercover FBI agent was in the Las Vegas hotel room where the alleged bribe was paid. Murphy resigned from Creighton after being put on paid administrative leave. In 2021, the NCAA put the Creighton program on two years’ probation.
In 2021, Creighton suspended McDermott for one game for making racially insensitive remarks to his players after a loss at Xavier.
McDermott, who is white, acknowledged saying: “Guys, we got to stick together. We need both feet in. I need everybody to stay on the plantation. I can’t have anybody leave the plantation.”
Several Black players said they were hurt by their coach's words. McDermott made a public apology and said he accepted and agreed with the suspension.
Huss, 47, played at Creighton from 1997-2001, was an assistant under McDermott from 2017-23 and then left to become head coach at High Point. He was 56-15 in two seasons and led High Point to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in its Division I history in 2025.
Huss was named head coach-in-waiting when he returned to Creighton last April.
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to be named the head men’s basketball coach at Creighton University,” Huss said. “This University has meant so much to me as a former player, as an alumnus and through the seven years I’ve spent serving this program. Creighton helped shape who I am, and the opportunity to now lead this program is something I do not take lightly."
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