Creighton Bluejays Coach Greg McDermott Announces Retirement After 16 Seasons

Head coach Greg McDermott, who has run the program at Creighton for 16 years, officially announced his retirement on Monday.

16 Legendary Years.

Thank you for everything, Coach.

📰 https://t.co/fOxtJ41DsA #GoJays x @cucoachmac pic.twitter.com/prrZME8x27
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) March 23, 2026

The 61-year-old McDermott has taken this Blue Jays program to heights that the university has never reached. He did it with class, dignity, and respect. Players who have come to the program admired his leadership. McDermott leaves the coaching chair with many accomplishments, including 365 wins, two Big East regular-season titles, 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, two Sweet 16s, and a 2023 Elite Eight.

"My core values are faith, family, and my team," McDermott said. "I'm not sure there's an institution anywhere that embodies better than Creighton University."

You made this place better.

Thank you, Coach. #GoJays pic.twitter.com/etyFL9i9ET
— Creighton Men’s Basketball (@BluejayMBB) March 23, 2026

Creighton had a season of ups and downs. It's a team that has battled through injuries. If the team had been at full strength, then they would've had a better record in the Big East. Regardless of the storm, McDermott and the Bluejays stuck with the players they had and made the best of the situation. McDermott never hits the panic button with his team.

Alan Huss will succeed McDermott as the next head coach. Huss has proven he can lead a program onto a winning path. As tough as it may be for folks to see McDermott leave, there's a chance that Huss will be the next influential coach for Creighton. Huss did a tremendous job during the two seasons he spent as a coach at High Point. Huss took High Point to a 56-15.

Aside from being Creighton's all-time winningest coach, McDermott has spent 25 seasons as a Division I head coach, including stops at Northern Iowa and Iowa State. It gets forgotten because he became a fixture at Creighton, but it was also the lessons and experience he learned from those two institutions that led to his hiring at Creighton in the first place. Before McDermott arrived at Creighton, Dana Altman coached the BlueJays from 1994 through 2010.

McDermott will coach the Bluejays one more time when the team plays next week in the Crown tournament. Creighton finished the season with a 15-17 record, which was the second-worst under McDermott. The team lost its chance to capture the Big East title when it lost to the Seton Hall Pirates, 72-61, in the tournament. St. John's Red Storm went on to win back-to-back Big East titles.

A new era has begun in Creighton. Now it's a matter of putting things in order and building more wins for the next couple of years. McDermott and the sports head department want the program to build momentum with better recruitment and keep a high-class mentality.

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