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On Saturday, Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski is set to coach in his final game. The legendary leader, known by most as Coach K, will close out his career at Cameron Indoor Stadium this weekend in a game against North Carolina.
Because Krzyzewski announced his retirement, ticket prices have skyrocketed since this will mark the last leg of Coach K’s regular season farewell tour before the NCAA Tournament later this month.
While Coach K’s career is an incredible feat, everyone knows you can’t get there on your own. Throughout his career, there has been one woman by his side the entire time: his wife, Carol ‘Mickie’ Marsh, otherwise known as Mickie Krzyzewski.
Mickie was born on September 26, 1946 in Alexandria, Virginia. In her earlier life, she was an airline stewardess, which led to her meeting her future husband on a flight. The two of them have been together ever since.
The couple got married in 1969, tying the knot at a small Catholic chapel in West Point, New York on the day of his graduation. In 2004, on their 35th wedding anniversary, they showed how strong their relationship remains by renewing their vows at Duke Chapel.
Known by many as the “best college coach in basketball history,” Coach K was named the head coach at Duke University in 1980. Before that, he graduated from the United States Military Academy, where he played basketball.
Having gotten married a decade prior, Mickie was able to see her husband’s entire career unfold, standing by his side for some incredibly important moments. Like in 2015, when he became the first coach in history to win 1,000 NCAA division basketball games.
According to reports from The Wall Street Journal, Mickie was the only person who could persuade him to stand down during the 1994–95 season, when he suffered a back injury. She actually went as far as to give her husband an ultimatum–if he wanted to come home on what would prove to be his final day of coaching that season, he needed to skip practice and go to the doctor.
On 2 June 2021, after more than 40 years as coach, Krzyzewski announced he will retire at the end of the 2021-22 season. While this is sad news for college basketball fans everywhere, it’s a positive thing for his family, whom he can spend more time with post-retirement.
Coach K and his wife have three daughters, Debbie Savarino, Lindy Frasher, and Jamie Spatola, who have given them nine grandchildren in total.
All of his children has followed in his footsteps and attended Duke, undoubtedly making their father proud. Debbie works on Duke’s faculty as assistant director of athletics, Lindy works as a staff counsellor at Duke and works with the basketball team, and Jamie graduated from Duke University in English and is an author.
Krzyzewski and his wife have also been active for years in fundraising and support for the Duke Children’s Hospital, Children’s Miracle Network, the V Foundation for Cancer Research. Now, they have more time to focus on their philanthropy as they enjoy their downtime post-retirement.