Louisville is the only place Jeff Walz wants to be.
The Cardinals women’s basketball coach has had opportunities to leave for other programs, but after 19 years, Walz is set on staying put in the Derby City.
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And 19 years after he took over the program, Walz reached his 500th career head coaching victory, all of which came at UofL, after the No. 13 Cardinals defeated Virginia Tech, 85-60, on Sunday at the KFC Yum! Center.
“I applied for several jobs throughout my career to be a head coach. Louisville and Tom (Jurich) and Julie Hermann were the ones that gave me a chance, that gave me an opportunity,” Walz said Thursday. “And to be here for 19 years, it’s just not the norm. … I love every second that I’ve been here. It’s home.”
Walz is the 29th active Division I head coach and third ACC coach to reach the feat after Miami coach Tricia Cullop picked up her 500th career victory Thursday. The Hurricanes defeated the Hokies, 75-67, in overtime. N.C. State coach Wes Moore has long surpassed the 500-win mark and has the second-most wins of active Division I women’s basketball coaches behind UConn’s Geno Auriemma.
“I’m glad that we’ve taken the time throughout the 19 years to enjoy the moments that we’ve had, because you never know if they’re coming back again,” Walz said. “Everybody is trying to win. And if you don’t take the time to enjoy the good times, then all you’re going to live with is the bad times.”
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Active Division I women’s basketball head coaches with 500 or more wins
Geno Auriemma, UConn, 1,264
Wes Moore, N.C. State, 869
Bill Fennelly, Iowa State, 814
Joe McKeown, Northwestern, 783
Gordy Presnell, Boise State, 779
Kim Mulkey, LSU, 768
Stephanie Gaitley, Fairleigh Dickinson, 736
Jeff Mittie, Kansas State, 680
Brenda Frese, Maryland, 678
Mike McLaughlin, Penn, 675
Dawn Staley, South Carolina, 661
Aaron Johnston, South Dakota State, 639
Kelly Graves, Oregon, 638
Scott Rueck, Oregon State, 614
Robin Pingeton, Wisconsin, 595
Chris Kielsmeier, Cleveland State, 580
Kim Barnes Arico, Michigan, 565
Brandon Schneider, Kansas; Kenny Brooks, Kentucky, 554
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Tricia Fabbri, Quinnipiac, 553
Anthony Bozzella, Seton Hall, 546
Kristy Curry, Alabama, 544
Julie Goodenough, Abilene Christian, 538
Ryun Williams, Colorado State, 524
Carla Berube, Princeton, 517
Mark Kellogg, West Virginia, 507
Jeff Walz, Louisville; Kevin Pederson, Coastal Carolina; Tricia Cullop, Miami, 500
Reach Louisville football, women’s basketball and baseball beat writer Alexis Cubit at acubit@gannett.com and follow her on X at @Alexis_Cubit.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Jeff Walz joins elite group including Geno Auriemma, Wes Moore
