Bill Cofield
William Lawrence Cofield (September 21, 1939 – June 20, 1983) was an American basketball coach. He was the first black basketball head coach of a Big Ten Conference team, coaching Wisconsin from 1976 to 1982.[1]
Background
Cofield was born and raised in Carrier Mills, Illinois.[2] He played college basketball at Casper Junior College in Casper, Wyoming and at McKendree University in Lebanon, Illinois, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education in 1963. He received a master's degree in physical education from the University of Kentucky in 1967.[2]
Career
Cofield's first coaching assignment was at H. E. Davis Junior High School in Cleveland, Ohio in 1963. After two years he was named to coach East Technical High School in Cleveland, as an assistant coach where the team went 20–1 in 1965–66.[2]
Cofield's first year of collegiate coaching came at Kentucky State University, where he spent one year as an assistant before being named to head the Lincoln University of Pennsylvania team. His two-year record of 38–12 included two conference championships and NAIA playoff berths.[2]
Cofield moved to Prairie View A&M University in Prairie View, Texas, where he posted a 57–48 record over four years. His 1972–73 squad went 19–8, placing second in the Southwestern Athletic Conference.[2]
Cofield became the nation's first black athletic director and head coach at a predominantly white institution of higher learning by accepting both positions at the College of Racine in 1973. There, Cofield hired Bo Ryan as his assistant coach. Following a 14–15 season, the school closed. Cofield joined the University of Virginia staff, where he served as an assistant under head coach Terry Holland for two seasons.
Cofield signed a five-year contract to become the head coach at Wisconsin on March 16, 1976, succeeding John Powless who had resigned one month prior on February 11 during a Badgers' 14-game losing streak.[3] He coached at Wisconsin for six seasons. His best team was his 1979–80 team, which posted a record of 15–14 and had future NBA players Wes Matthews and Claude Gregory on its roster.
Cofield is a member of the McKendree University Sports Hall of Fame. He died at age 43 from cancer in Madison, Wisconsin in 1983.[4] He is buried at the Sunset Lawn Cemetery in Harrisburg, Illinois.
Head coaching record
College
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lincoln Lions () (1967–1969) | |||||||||
| 1967–68 | Lincoln | 19–3 | 1st | NAIA Participant | |||||
| 1968–69 | Lincoln | 19–9 | 1st | NAIA Participant | |||||
| Lincoln: | 38–12 | ||||||||
| Prairie View A&M (Southwestern Athletic Conference) (1969–1973) | |||||||||
| 1969–70 | Prairie View A&M | 10–17 | |||||||
| 1970–71 | Prairie View A&M | 14–12 | |||||||
| 1971–72 | Prairie View A&M | 14–11 | |||||||
| 1972–73 | Prairie View A&M | 19–8 | 2nd | ||||||
| Prairie View A&M: | 57–48 | ||||||||
| Racine Lakers () (1973–1974) | |||||||||
| 1973–74 | Racine | 14–15 | |||||||
| Racine: | 14–15 | ||||||||
| Wisconsin Badgers (Big Ten Conference) (1976–1982) | |||||||||
| 1976–77 | Wisconsin | 11–16 | 7–11 | T–7th | |||||
| 1977–78 | Wisconsin | 8–19 | 4–14 | T–9th | |||||
| 1978–79 | Wisconsin | 12–15 | 6–12 | T–8th | |||||
| 1979–80 | Wisconsin | 15–14 | 7–11 | 8th | |||||
| 1980–81 | Wisconsin | 11–16 | 5–13 | 9th | |||||
| 1981–82 | Wisconsin | 6–21 | 3–15 | 10th | |||||
| Wisconsin: | 63–101 | 32–76 | |||||||
| Total: | 172–176 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
- ^ "People in Sports". The New York Times. March 17, 1976.
- ^ a b c d e "Wisconsin Basketball 1980–81". University of Wisconsin–Madison. Retrieved July 8, 2009.
- ^ Dinkin, Naomi. "People in Sports," The New York Times, Wednesday, March 17, 1976. Retrieved March 26, 2023.
- ^ "BILL COFIELD". The New York Times. June 22, 1983 – via NYTimes.com.
Content Disclaimer
Informasi ini disarikan dari Wikipedia dan disajikan kembali untuk tujuan edukasi. Konten tersedia di bawah lisensi CC BY-SA 3.0. Kami tidak bertanggung jawab atas ketidakakuratan data yang bersumber dari kontribusi publik tersebut.
- The information displayed on this website is sourced in part or in whole from Wikipedia and has been adapted for the purpose of restating it. We strive to provide accurate and relevant information, however:
- There is no guarantee of absolute accuracy. Wikipedia is an open, collaborative project that can be edited by anyone, so information is subject to change.
- It is not intended to constitute professional advice. The content displayed is for informational and educational purposes only. For important decisions (e.g., medical, legal, or financial), please consult a professional.
- Content copyright. Wikipedia is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License (CC BY-SA). This means that content may be reused with appropriate attribution and shared under a similar license.
- Responsible use. Any risk arising from the use of information from this website is entirely the responsibility of the user.