University of Iowa men’s basketball assistant coach Kirk Speraw announced his retirement, effective June 30, after 43 years of coaching college basketball. The announcement was made Wednesday by head coach Fran McCaffery.
Speraw began his coaching career as a graduate assistant under Hall of Fame head coach Lute Olson on Iowa’s 1980 Final Four team and concludes as a 12-year assistant coach on McCaffery’s staff that won the 2022 Big Ten Tournament championship.
“Kirk has been the ultimate professional and an important part of our basketball program since I arrived in Iowa City,” said McCaffery. “Kirk was well-respected by the players and was one of the key components of rebuilding the program. His knowledge of the game and relationships that he developed with the players, families and fans will be greatly missed. It has been an honor to work alongside Kirk all these years.”
“I was fortunate that Coach Olson gave me my start in coaching here at the University of Iowa and I am grateful that Coach McCaffery and Gary Barta brought me back to my alma mater to finish my coaching career with a Big Ten championship,” Speraw said.
Prior to his successful coaching career, Speraw was on Olson’s Hawkeye roster for four seasons (1976-79), including lettering on the 1979 Big Ten regular season championship team.
After advancing to the 1980 Final Four as a graduate assistant, Speraw moved to Denver University, where he was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for former Iowa assistant coach Floyd Theard for two years (1981-82).
Speraw rejoined the Hawkeyes after serving 17 years as head coach at the University of Central Florida (1994-2010).