(IUW ATHLETICS) – Wisconsin men’s basketball head coach Greg Gard announced a pair of changes to his coaching staff on Monday, sharing the resignation of Special Assistant to the Head Coach Kirk Penney and the addition of former Badger standout Brad Davison.
Penney steps away from his basketball coaching role after spending two seasons on the Badgers bench. Davison returns to Madison as a Special Assistant to the Head Coach for the Badgers after spending the last three-plus seasons playing professional basketball overseas.
“Our entire team and staff are grateful for the two seasons Kirk was able to spend with us and I thank him for his impact on Wisconsin Basketball,” Gard said. “He is a legend of this program and it was fun to see him extend the impact he had as a player to then a coaching role. As a father and husband myself, I fully understand the importance of being present with your spouse and young kids, which quite frankly, is a non-negotiable in the game of life. I fully support Kirk’s decision to step away from coaching to be in New Zealand on a more full-time basis to grow his business entrepreneurial goals and most certainly be there with his family. We all understand the sacrifices he has made by living and working here while his family is half a world away, and I’m excited for him to be back home with Audra and the kids.
“Kirk will always have a place in our program and I’m looking forward to finding ways to keep him included in what we are building.”
A member of the UW Athletic Hall of Fame thanks to his tremendous playing career with the Badgers, Penney made an incredible impact during his time at UW. Wisconsin made the NCAA tournament in both seasons with Penney on the bench, owning a record of 49-23 (.681). Penney helped the Badgers average 80.9 points per game in 2024-25, the program’s best mark since 1971-72. UW also led the Big Ten Conference in three-point makes (9.9 per game) and led the country in free-throw shooting (82.6 percent).
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