Bill White (October 21, 1936 – August 7, 1999) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

coach.

Coaching career

He was the first head coach of the

Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball The Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball team is the basketball team representing Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The team is a member of Summit League. Oral Roberts has made appearances in six NCAA Tournaments, the most r ...

team, and he helped lay the groundwork for the university's athletic and health education departments. While at the university, White compiled a record of 65–35, which ranks him as the third winningest coach in school history. Prior to taking the head coaching position at the program, White established the basketball program at Emmanuel College in Franklin Springs, Georgia. After leaving Oral Roberts University, White coached at the University of Corpus Christi (now known as

Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

), and subsequently left to become an assistant to coach

Abe Lemons A.E. "Abe" Lemons (November 21, 1922 – September 2, 2002) was an American college basketball player and coach. As a head coach at Oklahoma City University, Pan American University and the University of Texas at Austin, he compiled a record of 5 ...

at Pan American University (now the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley) Upon the departure of Lemons to the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, White was named the head coach and athletic director at Pan American in 1976. While at Pan American, White led the Broncs to their first post-season tournament play at the Division I level. During the 1980–81 season, Pan American earned a berth to the

1981 National Invitation Tournament The 1981 National Invitation Tournament was the 1981 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition. Selected teams Below is a list of the 32 teams selected for the tournament.

. The Broncs lost to the 1981 NIT champs, the

University of Tulsa The University of Tulsa (TU) is a private research university in Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a historic affiliation with the Presbyterian Church and the campus architectural style is predominantly Collegiate Gothic. The school traces its origin to ...

Hurricanes, coached by

Nolan Richardson Nolan Richardson Jr. (born December 27, 1941) is a former American basketball head coach best known for his tenure at the University of Arkansas, where he won the 1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament and led the Razorbacks to three F ...

. That year the Broncs also were able to post a regular-season upset win over the eventual NCAA Champion

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

coached by

Bobby Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (born October 25, 1940) is an American former basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", Knight won 902 NCAA Division I men's college basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement, and currently fourth all-ti ...

. White compiled a 94–66 record while at Pan American, the third best in school history behind Abe Lemons and Sam Williams.

Lon Kruger Lonnie Duane Kruger (born August 19, 1952) is a retired American college and professional basketball coach (sport), coach who was most recently the men's basketball head coach of the University of Oklahoma. Kruger played college basketball for K ...

replaced White in 1982 as Pan American's head basketball coach.

Personal life

With his wife Lois, the Whites had three children, which resulted in two grandchildren. On August 7, 1999, White died of a heart attack at the age of 62.

Regular season record

Head coaching record

References

External links

UTPA Record

1936 births 1999 deaths American men's basketball coaches Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball coaches Texas A&M–Corpus Christi Islanders men's basketball coaches Texas–Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros athletic directors UT Rio Grande Valley Vaqueros men's basketball coaches Place of birth missing {{1930s-US-basketball-bio-stub