Frederick Snowden (c. 1936 – January 17, 1994) was an American businessman and men's

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

at the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

. Nicknamed "The Fox" for his cool demeanor, he was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

head coach at a major university. Following his coaching career Snowden became an executive with

Baskin-Robbins Baskin-Robbins is an American multinational chain of ice cream and cake speciality shops owned by Inspire Brands. Based in Canton, Massachusetts, Baskin-Robbins was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin (1913–1967) and Irv Robbins (1917–2008) in ...

and the

Food 4 Less Food 4 Less is the name of several grocery store chains, the largest of which is currently owned by Kroger. It is a no-frills grocery store where the customers bag their own groceries at the checkout. Kroger operates Food 4 Less stores in the ...

foundation.

Background

Snowden was born in Brewton, Alabama, the son of a sharecropper. At age 6 he moved to

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

with his mother and two brothers while his father remained in Alabama. He graduated from Detroit's Northwestern High School. Snowden met his wife, Maya, at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

and was married in 1962. The couple had two children: a son, Charles Anthony, and a daughter, Stacey Shannon. Following college, Snowden worked as a basketball coach at his old high school. During his five-year tenure, the school's

junior varsity team Junior varsity (often called "JV") players are the members of a team who are not the main players in a competition (such as any football, basketball, or baseball game), usually at the high school level–– and formerly at the collegiate level� ...

compiled a record of 90 wins to no losses while the varsity squad had a record of 87 wins and 7 losses. Snowden then worked as a sportscaster on local radio and television before becoming an assistant coach at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

under

Dave Strack David H. Strack (March 2, 1923 – January 25, 2014) was an American athletic director for the University of Arizona and head basketball coach of the University of Michigan. He was inducted to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame. Early life Stra ...

and Johnny Orr.

University of Arizona

In 1972, Snowden became the first African-American head coach at a major university and the second black head coach at a Division I school, following

Illinois State Illinois State University (ISU) is a public university in Normal, Illinois. Founded in 1857 as Illinois State Normal University, it is the oldest public university in Illinois. The university emphasizes teaching and is recognized as one of th ...

's Will Robinson, when he was hired at the

Tucson , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

. The year before Snowden's arrival, Arizona was and drew about 1,000 fans to each game. In his first year as head coach, the Wildcats were and average attendance increased to 5,000; following the opening of McKale Center, up to 14,000 attended home games. Following his first season, he was also named

Western Athletic Conference The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) is an NCAA Division I conference. The WAC covers a broad expanse of the western United States with member institutions located in Arizona, California, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Texas. Due to mos ...

(WAC) Coach of the Year, Tucson's Man of the Year, and hosted two television shows. Under Snowden's tutelage, the Arizona program continued to succeed for several years, making the NCAA tournament twice, reaching the

Elite Eight In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

. Arizona's success under Snowden faded following their move to the Pacific-10 Conference in 1978, with his final three seasons resulting in losing records. In January 1982, he announced his resignation, effective at the end of the season. At the time of the announcement there were allegations that he had been involved with the improper use of a university slush fund, a charge that Snowden denied. A later NCAA investigation found no evidence Snowden had acted improperly. He was inducted into the University of Arizona hall of fame in 1988.

Post-coaching career

Following the end of his coaching career, Snowden became a

management consultant Management consulting is the practice of providing consulting services to organizations to improve their performance or in any way to assist in achieving organizational objectives. Organizations may draw upon the services of management consultants ...

and operated his own business. In 1985 he was hired by

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

overseeing the company's National Metropolitan Franchise Expansion Program. Snowden later left Baskin-Robbins and became

executive director Executive director is commonly the title of the chief executive officer of a non-profit organization, government agency or international organization. The title is widely used in North American and European not-for-profit organizations, though ...

of the Food 4 Less foundation. Snowden's death came on January 17, 1994. While traveling to Washington, D.C. to attend a

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

ceremony, he suffered a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

while at a convenience store and died at George Washington Hospital.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Snowden, Fred 1936 births 1994 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Arizona Wildcats men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Alabama Basketball coaches from Michigan Basketball players from Alabama Basketball players from Detroit High school basketball coaches in the United States Michigan Wolverines men's basketball coaches People from Brewton, Alabama Northwestern High School (Michigan) alumni Wayne State Warriors men's basketball players Year of birth uncertain