Former Iowa Head Coach George Raveling Passes at Age 88

IOWA CITY, Iowa – Former University of Iowa head men’s basketball coach George Raveling passed away on Sept. 2. He was 88 years old.

Raveling served as Iowa’s head coach from 1983-86, where he guided the Hawkeyes to back-to-back 20-win seasons and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances. He finished his tenure with 54 victories in his three seasons.

During his Hawkeye tenure, Raveling recruited several high-caliber players, including B.J. Armstrong, Roy Marble, Ed Horton, Greg Stokes and Kevin Gamble, all of whom went on to play professionally.   Several of Raveling’s recruits were key figures during Iowa’s 1987 Elite Eight run.

“We would like to extend our sympathies to the Raveling family,” said Iowa head coach Ben McCollum. “George leaves behind an amazing basketball legacy. He was truly a trailblazer for our sport who devoted his life to the game.”

Raveling began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater Villanova (1963-69) and then Maryland (1970-72) where he helped lead the 1970-71 Terrapins to an undefeated regular season.

As a head coach, Raveling guided Washington State (1972-83) to two NCAA Tournament appearances before making the move to the Midwest in 1983. After coaching Iowa, he took USC (1986-94) to two NCAA appearances and was named Kodak National Coach of the Year (1992), Basketball Weekly Coach of the Year (1992), Black Coaches Association Coach of the Year (1992) and CBS/Chevrolet National Coach of the Year (1994).

In 1984 and 1988, Raveling served as an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic teams. Raveling was the first African American coach in the ACC and PAC-8. He was not only known for making history by breaking down racial barriers as a coach, but also was a part of history when in 1963 he received the original copy of the Martin Luther King Jr., “I Have a Dream” speech.  He later donated the speech to his alma mater.

Raveling was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. He also was honored with the National Association of Basketball (NABC) Foundation Court of Honor award in 2016.

Raveling finished his coaching career with 337 victories and six NCAA Tournament appearances. After retiring from coaching, he became Nike’s global basketball sports marketing director, where he played a pivotal role in Nike signing a young Michael Jordan from the University of North Carolina.

“He was my best friend… he was 1 of 1,” said Scott Howard, director of player personnel with the Denver Nuggets, who served two years as a graduate assistant and one as a volunteer assistant under Raveling at Iowa and later at USC.  “He was an amazing guy with a great sense of humor and had a great way about him.

“In my lifetime there was nobody that had the impact George had. He had the coaching impact and then he went to Nike where he was a world-wide basketball figure by the end of his career.”