Ritchie McKay, Liberty Men's Basketball Coach

Sports Spectrum Podcast

Sports Spectrum

Sports

5 • 661 Ratings

🗓️ 15 February 2019

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Episode 248

After spending six seasons working under Tony Bennett as associate head coach at Virginia, McKay returned to Liberty as the men's basketball head coach on April 1, 2015. McKay previously served as the program's head coach during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons.

Despite being predicted to finish 11th in the 2015-16 Big South Preseason Poll, McKay guided the Flames to a top five seed and a first round bye in the 2016 Big South Championship, finishing 10-8 in conference play. The Flames' finish in the standings prompted McKay to receive Big South Coach of the Year honors.

Before returning to Liberty, McKay helped the Cavaliers post a 136-64 record, including back-to-back 30-win seasons in 2013-14 and 2014-15.

Prior to his days in Charlottesville, McKay served two seasons as Liberty's men's basketball coach, posting a 39-28 overall record and a 19-13 mark in Big South play. He was named the seventh head coach in program history on March 26, 2007.

Coming into the 2018-19 season, McKay has compiled a 204-186 career coaching record in 13 seasons as a head coach and has the winningest career coaching record in program history with a .582 winning percentage. Prior to his first stint as head coach at Liberty, McKay served as head coach at Portland State (1996-98), Colorado State (1998-00), Oregon State (2000-02) and New Mexico (2002-07).

This season, Liberty is having a terrific season, already winning 20 games (through Feb. 11) and is the favorite to make the NCAA Tournament out of the Big South Conference. On December 29, 2018, Liberty defeated a Pac-12 opponent for the first time in its school's history, as they went into historic Pauley Pavilion and beat UCLA, 73-58.

On this episode of the podcast, we talk to coach McKay about how this season has been going, his faith journey, the differences coaching for a place like Virginia compared to coaching at Liberty and the incredible story of his Dad coming to faith in Christ on his death bed.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Sports Spectrum, the Sports and Faith podcast that brings Jesus back into the conversation.
0:17.5	Here's your host, Jason Romano.
0:19.7	This episode of the Sports Spectrum podcast with Liberty Men's basketball coach Richie McKay
0:25.3	is brought to you by Compassion International.
0:28.6	This is your chance to sponsor a child and bring a hope more powerful than poverty
0:33.2	to a child in need.
0:36.4	Through the great work being done by Compassion International,
0:39.4	their local church, and the love of a sponsor,
0:42.5	that's where you come in,
0:43.9	1.8 million children and their families no longer struggle alone
0:48.1	for basic needs like food, education, health care, and basic help.
0:53.4	They are encouraged, sometimes for the first time, to dream, to imagine, health care, and basic help. They are encouraged, sometimes for the first time,
0:56.3	to dream, to imagine, to learn, and to grow. And where there was hardship, now there is hope.
1:03.4	That's the great work being done by Compassion International. And if you're feeling that tugging,
1:08.6	that little nudge to want to do more to help,
1:12.4	what better way to do it than to release a child from poverty through Compassion International?
1:17.1	Here's the website.
1:18.4	Compassion.com slash sports spectrum.
1:21.9	One child at a time, more powerful than poverty.
1:25.9	Compassion.com slash sports spectrum is the place to go and sponsor a child today.
1:32.5	Today on the show, very excited to welcome Richie McKay, the Liberty Men's basketball coach
1:37.4	to the podcast, and Richie has been with Liberty since 2015 as their head coach.
	...

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