Clarence Victor Iba (April 20, 1909 – April 21, 1997) was the head basketball coach at 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 ...
. Iba coached the
Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball
The Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball team represents the University of Tulsa in Tulsa, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The team participates in the American Athletic Conference. The Golden Hurricane are led by head coach Eric Konkol, hired ...
team for eleven seasons, from 1949 to 1960. He is the brother of former
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...
coach
Henry Iba
Henry Payne Iba (; August 6, 1904 – January 15, 1993) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach at Northwest Missouri State Teacher's College, now known as Northwest Missouri S ...
.
When Iba was hired in 1949, he became Tulsa's first full-time basketball coach. Iba led the team to a
NIT appearance in 1953, the first postseason appearance for Tulsa in the modern era. Tulsa also made the
Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
college basketball rankings for the first time in the 1952-53 season, reaching as high as #8 in the poll. The 1954-55 season was Iba's best at the school. Tulsa won the
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest.
History
The MVC was established ...
with a 21-7 record, including 8-2 in conference. This was the first twenty-win season in school history. Tulsa advanced to the
1955 NCAA Tournament, its first appearance in that tourney. After being eliminated in the first round, Tulsa won the consolation bracket. Additionally, Tulsa's first all-American,
Bob Patterson, was from that same 1954-55 campaign.
Iba's last few years at Tulsa were not as successful as the 1954-55 campaign. He does, however, have the longest coaching tenure in school history, and his 137 wins were the most in Tulsa history until
Doug Wojcik
Frederick Douglas Wojcik (pronounced WO-jick) (born April 12, 1964) is an American college basketball coach, former player, and former Naval officer. Currently, he is an assistant coach for Tom Izzo at Michigan State University. An NCAA Divisi ...
passed him in 2012. Following his career as a coach, he worked as a marketing executive in
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
, Texas. Iba was inducted into the University of Tulsa Hall of Fame in 1994.
["Clarence Iba." University of Tulsa Hall of Fame. http://tulsahurricane.cstv.com/genrel/iba_clarence00.html]
Iba died on April 21, 1997 of an aortic
aneurysm
An aneurysm is an outward bulging, likened to a bubble or balloon, caused by a localized, abnormal, weak spot on a blood vessel wall. Aneurysms may be a result of a hereditary condition or an acquired disease. Aneurysms can also be a nidus (s ...
.
Head coaching record
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iba, Clarence
1909 births
1997 deaths
American men's basketball players
Basketball coaches from Texas
Basketball players from Texas
High school basketball coaches in the United States
Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men's basketball players
Sportspeople from Fort Worth, Texas
Tulsa Golden Hurricane men's basketball coaches