After graduating from Holy Cross, Willard was
drafted to the
United States Army. Willard finished
basic training when negotiations began for the
Paris Peace Accords, so Willard was reassigned to
Fort Benning instead of being sent overseas to
Vietnam. At Fort Benning, Willard assisted soldiers receiving treatment for wartime injuries with paperwork. From 1972 to 1984, Willard was a coach at St. Dominic High. During his tenure there he led his team to the 1980 state championship, posted a 162–89 record, and earned five conference coach of the year honors. Willard's success at Holy Cross continued as he led the school to two more conference titles and subsequent trips to the NCAA tournament in 2002 and 2003. The following season, Willard became director of operations at Louisville. ==Personal life==