For the first time in Division I history, a married couple will lead a school's men's and women's teams after Vermont announced the hiring of former Holy Cross coach Maureen Magarity, who is the wife of longtime Vermont men's coach John Becker.
Monday's announcement came just days after former women's coach Alisa Kresga announced that she was leaving to take the job at Richmond.
In her last stint as a head coach, Magarity led Holy Cross to back-to-back Patriot League tournament titles and NCAA tournament automatic berths in 2023 and 2024. Overall, she was 72-41 at Holy Cross before taking a break from coaching and moving to Burlington, Vermont, where her husband has led the Catamounts' men's team to six NCAA tournament appearances.
"I'm honored," Magarity said in the school's news release. "I'm so thankful to [athletic director] Jeff Schulman for his belief in me. Over the past couple of years, I've fallen in love with this program. Coach Kresge has done an incredible job restoring a championship culture and I will work tirelessly to maintain the standards that have been established here. Having lived here the past two years I have a unique perspective and appreciation for the Burlington and UVM community. I look forward to continuing to be a part of it."
In an Instagram post, Becker proposed to Magarity in 2023. "She said yes!" Becker wrote. The couple married last year.
The opening for Vermont's women's team was created by a series of unlikely events after Virginia fired women's head coach Amaka Agugua-Hamilton, who led the team to the Sweet 16 this season. Richmond head coach Aaron Roussell announced last week that he was leaving to accept the opening at Virginia and Vermont's Kresga, the winningest women's basketball coach in school history, announced on Saturday that she had accepted the job at Richmond.
Vermont athletic director Jeff Schulman said Saturday that associate head coach Sacha Santimano would serve as interim head coach of the women's team. By Monday, the school had hired Magarity, a former standout at Boston College and Marist.
Her husband has been the head coach at Vermont since 2011.
When Magarity resigned from Holy Cross in 2024, she cited "family reasons" for her decision.
"What we accomplished these four years at Holy Cross," Magarity said then. "I still have to pinch myself. It's the most incredible run I ever could have dreamed of."