Everett Norris Case (June 21, 1900 – April 30, 1966), nicknamed the "Old Gray Fox", was a basketball coach most notable for his tenure at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The unive ...

, from 1946 to 1964.

Early life and career

Born in

Anderson, Indiana Anderson, named after Chief William Anderson, is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Indiana, United States. It is the principal city of the Anderson, Indiana Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses Madison County. Anderson i ...

, Case graduated from the

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

in 1923. He compiled a 726–75 record while coaching 23 years in high school basketball, including winning 4

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th st ...

state championships while coaching in

Frankfort, Indiana Frankfort is a city in Clinton County, Indiana, United States. The population was 16,422 at the 2010 census. The city is the county seat of Clinton County. History Brothers John, William and Nicholas Pence, previously of Warren County, Ohio, sett ...

(1925, 1929, 1936, 1939). Frankfort's Case Arena is named after him. Case is one of only five coaches to win at least 4 state titles in Indiana basketball (the others being Marion Crawley, Glenn M. Curtis, and Jack Keefer with 4 and Bill Green with 6). Case enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1941. He was commissioned a senior-grade

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

and reported to

Annapolis Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

for a four-week training course. He then traveled to

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

for five weeks training before reporting to Naval Pre-flight school at St. Mary's College in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the mo ...

, where he served as assistant athletic director and director of basketball. He also served as athletic director at the Alameda Naval Air Station. In 1943,

DePauw University DePauw University is a private liberal arts college, liberal arts university in Greencastle, Indiana. It has an enrollment of 1,972 students. The school has a Methodist heritage and was originally known as Indiana Asbury University. DePauw is ...

began a naval flight preparatory school. An abbreviated basketball schedule was used, and Case, now a

lieutenant commander Lieutenant commander (also hyphenated lieutenant-commander and abbreviated Lt Cdr, LtCdr. or LCDR) is a commissioned officer rank in many navies. The rank is superior to a lieutenant and subordinate to a commander. The corresponding rank ...

, became the athletic director of the program.

At North Carolina State University

Upon leaving the Navy in 1946, Case assumed coaching duties at N.C. State. In 18 years, he compiled a 377–134 (.737) record—still the best in school history. He won nine straight conference titles from 1946 to 1955. He won six straight

Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I. Southern Conference football teams compete in the Football Championship Subdivision (formerly ...

titles before the Wolfpack joined most of the SoCon's other large schools in forming the

Atlantic Coast Conference The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) is a collegiate athletic conference located in the eastern United States. Headquartered in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC's fifteen member universities compete in the National Collegiate Athletic Associa ...

, and then led the Wolfpack to the first three conference titles. He added a fourth in 1959. Case himself was aptly rewarded, earning three ACC Coach of the Year awards, in 1954, 1955 and 1958. Case's teams finished third in the 1947 NIT and third in the 1950 NCAA tournament. The ACC tournament's Most Valuable Player award is named in his honor. N.C. State had already begun construction on

Reynolds Coliseum William Neal Reynolds Coliseum is a multi-purpose arena located in Raleigh, North Carolina, United States, on the campus of North Carolina State University. The arena was built to host a variety of events, including agricultural expositions and N ...

in 1941, but all work stopped during World War II. Case persuaded the administration to build a 12,400-seat arena, instead of the 10,000-seat facility originally planned. The ACC's basketball tournament was largely Case's idea, with Reynolds Coliseum hosting the first 13 ACC tournaments from 1954 through 1966. It was Case's idea to get the ACC to recognize the tournament winner as the conference champion—and thus the winner of the conference's lone berth in the NCAA tournament. From 1949 to 1960, it also hosted the "Dixie Classic," a holiday tournament that quickly ascended to the top of the state's sporting calendar. Case's teams went on to win seven Dixie Classic titles.Who is the Greatest of them All? , Jim L. Sumner , Making the Case for Everette Case
/ref> When Case came to Raleigh, North Carolina was, like most states in the South, enraptured by

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most o ...

. However, he is largely credited with making basketball a craze in the state. For example, in his first year in Raleigh, the fire marshal canceled a game because people were spilling onto the floor of tiny Thompson Gymnasium and climbing in through windows. The other three schools along Tobacco Road--

Duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ran ...

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

and Wake Forest—responded by upgrading their facilities and recruiting budgets to counter the "red menace" in Raleigh. Case is also credited with introducing such practices as cutting down the nets after a championship and shining a spotlight on players as they were introduced. For a time, it looked as if the Wolfpack would dominate the ACC in the same fashion that

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virgin ...

dominated the

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

. However, the Wolfpack's momentum was derailed in 1956, when the NCAA placed N.C. State on four years' probation. Case reportedly had his top assistant coach and State's assistant athletic director give

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

high school athlete Jackie Moreland cash and gifts to entice him away from his previous agreement to attend Kentucky—a charge he denied. The NCAA, however, found that Case not only knew about the gifts to Moreland—which included a seven-year medical education—but expressly approved them. Just as that probation ended in 1960, State was placed on probation again—this time for a point-shaving scandal that caused the cancellation of the Dixie Classic. By this time, Case was in failing health. He began the 1964–65 season even though he was suffering from inoperable cancer. However, only two games into the season, it was obvious he was unable to continue, and he stepped down in favor of assistant

Press Maravich Petar "Press" Maravich (August 29, 1915 – April 15, 1987) was an American college and professional basketball coach. He received the nickname "Press" as a boy, when one of his jobs was selling the ''Pittsburgh Press'' on the streets of his homet ...

. He soon needed to use a wheelchair; when the Wolfpack won the 1965 ACC tournament, they wheeled him over from press row so he could cut the last strand of the net. He died a year later, and was interred at Raleigh Memorial Park in Raleigh. Case instructed that his body be laid facing US Highway 70 so he could "wave" to later Wolfpack teams as they traveled to Durham and Chapel Hill.

Legacy

Case was inducted into the

Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame is a sports museum and hall of fame in New Castle, Indiana. While it honors men and women associated with high school, college, and professional basketball in Indiana, an emphasis is placed on the athlete's high ...

in 1968,

Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and prese ...

on May 3, 1982, the

North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame The North Carolina Museum of History is a history museum located in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina. It is an affiliate through the Smithsonian Affiliations program. The museum is a part of the Division of State History Museums, Office of Archives ...

in 1964, and the inaugural class of the NC State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012. N.C. State's main athletics office is named for him. In 2011 ''The Classic: How Everett Case and His Tournament Brought Big-Time Basketball to the South'' () by Bethany Bradsher was published, telling the story of the Dixie Classic basketball tournament with an emphasis on Case's contributions.

Head coaching record

References

External links