April 2, 2013
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Former University of Iowa men’s college basketball coach George Raveling will be inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. Raveling, who currently holds the title of Director of International Basketball for Nike, is being enshrined as a contributor.
The Class of 2013 will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013, at the Midland Theatre in Kansas City as part of a three-day celebration of college basketball.
Last month, Raveling was also selected to receive the 2013 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Raveling’s coaching career began as an assistant at his alma mater of Villanova University in 1964. After spending time at Villanova, Raveling went on to coach at the University of Maryland and became the first African American basketball coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He landed several highly talented recruits, and helped lead the 1970-71 Terrapins to an undefeated season and No. 1 national ranking.
The following year, Raveling became the head coach at Washington State, where he took the once depleted Cougars to two NCAA tournaments and finished with an overall coaching record at WSU of 167-136. He became the first African American basketball coach in the Pac-8, which we know now as the Pac-12.
In 1983, Raveling took the head-coaching job at the University of Iowa, where he quickly made his mark on the campus and in the Big Ten. He took the Hawkeyes to back-to-back 20-win seasons, and in 1984; he was awarded the opportunity to coach with Bob Knight as an assistant for the 1984 Olympic team. His overall record at Iowa was 54-38.
His final stop was in Los Angeles at the University of Southern California. USC advanced to the NCAA tournament in 1991 and 1992 and also competed in the NIT in 1993 and 1994. Once again, Raveling was selected in 1988 as an assistant with the Olympic team.
In 1994, unfortunate health circumstances caused Raveling to walk away from the coaching profession, but he stayed close to basketball as a color commentator for Fox Sports and CBS. He later took on the job of Director of Grassroots Basketball for Nike, where he played an integral part in Nike Basketball’s growth by developing a series of events that helped showcase the talent of young athletes. Raveling was later promoted to Director of Global Basketball in 2000, and currently holds the title of Director of International Basketball for Nike.