Lou Cvijanovich (September 7, 1926 – November 24, 2018) was an American basketball coach for Santa Clara High School in

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

from 1958 to 1999. His 829 wins are the most by a high school basketball coach in California history.

Biography

In addition to his 829 victories, Cvijanovich led the Santa Clara program to three California state championships (1989, 1990 and 1999), 15

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF ...

titles, the second highest total in state history, and 30 league championships, the most ever. He was inducted into the California High School Sports Hall of Fame in 1999, the California Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1998, the National High School Hall of Fame in 1997 and the

Ventura County Ventura County () is a County (United States), county in Southern California, the southern part of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 843,843. The largest city is Oxnard, California ...

Athletic Hall of Fame. In 1996, Santa Clara High School renamed its gymnasium Cvijanovich Gymnasium. In 2012, the City of Oxnard renamed the portion of Laurel Street in front of Santa Clara High School Coach C Lane in his honor. In addition to his time as the basketball coach at Santa Clara, Cvijanovich was the head football coach for 17 years and the head baseball coach for 11 years. He posted 104 wins in football, earning a pair of CIF championships and seven league crowns. In his time as the baseball coach, Cvijanovich guided the Saints to a 114–30–2 record, one CIF title, and five league championships. He is the only coach in California prep history to win CIF championships in football, basketball, and baseball.

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara, California with 23,196 undergraduates and 2,983 graduate students enrolled in 2021–2022. It is part of the U ...

's head coach

Bob Williams Robert, Rob, Robbie, Bob or Bobby Williams may refer to: Entertainment Film * Robert Williams (actor, born 1894) (1894–1931), American stage and film actor * Robert B. Williams (actor) (1904–1978), American film actor * R. J. Williams (born ...

was quoted in 2004 saying: "Coach Cvijanovich has meant so much to basketball in the state of California, but more than that he has been a great teacher and a tremendous role model for young people." He died in

on November 24, 2018 at the age of 92.

References

1926 births 2018 deaths Basketball coaches from California High school baseball coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in California High school football coaches in California Sportspeople from Oxnard, California {{US-basketball-coach-stub