Orvis Utopia Sigler Jr. (June 22, 1922 – December 31, 2016) was an American

college basketball In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

coach, known for his tenures as head coach at

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

and

Centenary {{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in British English, is a 100th anniversary or otherwise relates to a century, a period of 100 years. Notable events Notable centennial events at ...

. Sigler served in the United States Navy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Upon his return, he studied and played

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 ...

at Southwest Missouri State University (now

Missouri State Missouri State University (MSU or MO State), formerly Southwest Missouri State University, is a public university in Springfield, Missouri. Founded in 1905 as the Fourth District Normal School, it is the state's second largest university by enr ...

). Following his graduation, Sigler turned to coaching. Sigler started coaching at West Plains High School in

West Plains, Missouri West Plains is a city in, and the county seat of Howell County, Missouri, United States. The population was 12,184 at the 2020 census. History The history of West Plains can be traced back to 1832, when settler Josiah Howell (after whom Howell ...

. He then went on to serve as an assistant to head coach

Bob Vanatta Bob Vanatta (July 7, 1918 – October 22, 2016) was an American basketball coach and college athletics administrator. He served as the head basketball coach for Central Methodist, Missouri State University, Army, Bradley, Memphis State, Missouri, ...

at his alma mater, Southwest Missouri State. After a year as head coach at

Missouri Valley College Missouri Valley College is a private college that is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Marshall, Missouri. The college was founded in 1889 and supports 40 academic majors and an enrollment close to 1,500 students. Misso ...

, he was named his former boss Vanatta's successor as head coach at Army. After four seasons and a 53–56 record, Sigler left West Point in 1958 to become head coach and athletic director at Centenary College in

Shreveport, Louisiana Shreveport ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is the third most populous city in Louisiana after New Orleans and Baton Rouge, respectively. The Shreveport–Bossier City metropolitan area, with a population of 393,406 in 2020, is t ...

. In ten seasons from 1958 to 1968, Sigler compiled a record of 122–134 with the Gentlemen. He also served as the school's head baseball coach for the 1972 and 1973 seasons. Sigler died on December 31, 2016, at his home in Shreveport.

References

External links

Coaching record
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sigler, Orvis 1922 births 2016 deaths American men's basketball coaches Army Black Knights men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Missouri Centenary Gentlemen baseball coaches Centenary Gentlemen basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States Missouri State Bears basketball coaches Missouri State Bears football players Missouri Valley Vikings men's basketball coaches United States Navy personnel of World War II