Bill_Hodges
Bill Hodges
American basketball coach (born 1943)
William Oscar Hodges (born March 9, 1943) is an American basketball coach. He was the head basketball coach at Indiana State University from 1978 to 1982, at Georgia College and State University from 1986 to 1991 and at Mercer University from 1991 to 1997.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1943-03-09) March 9, 1943 (age 81) Zionsville, Indiana, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Purdue University |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1965–1966 | Marian (assistant) |
| 1970–1974 | Tennessee Tech (assistant) |
| 1974–1975 | Armstrong State (assistant) |
| 1975–1978 | Indiana State (assistant) |
| 1978–1982 | Indiana State |
| 1983–1984 | Long Beach State (assistant) |
| 1986–1991 | Georgia College |
| 1991–1997 | Mercer |
| 1998–1999 | Murray State (assistant) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 239–208 |
| Tournaments | 4–1 (NCAA Division I) 0–3 (NAIA) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NCAA Division I Regional – Final Four (1979) MVC regular season (1979) MVC tournament (1979) | |
| Awards | |
| MVC Coach of the Year (1979) AP Coach of the Year (1979) UPI Coach of the Year (1979) Sporting News Coach of the Year (1979) Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame (2019) | |
As an assistant basketball coach at Indiana State University, he recruited Larry Bird after Bird had dropped out of Indiana University. Before the start of the 1978–79 season, Hodges was hired as Head Coach at Indiana State University after head coach Bob King suffered a brain aneurysm. Hodges proceeded to lead Indiana State with Larry Bird to an undefeated regular season and a second-place finish in the 1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, losing to Michigan State University and Magic Johnson in the NCAA Final. During that year, after a 33–1 record, Hodges won several coach of the year awards, including the UPI's and AP's. The Sycamores were selected as the United Press International Collegiate Champions. His later Indiana State teams would never reach the same heights, leading to his resignation from Indiana State after the 1982 season.[1][2][3][4]
Hodges is currently #7 in coaching wins at Indiana State with a record of 67–48 (.583) and #5 in wins at Mercer with a record of 62–107 (.367). His record at Georgia College was 110–53 (.675). His overall collegiate head coaching record is 239–208 (.535). Hodges is a graduate of Purdue University.[5]
Moving to live near his daughter, Hodges returned to high school teaching and coaching to keep busy and coach his granddaughter. He coached the boys basketball teams Roanoke Catholic High School and North Cross School in Roanoke, Virginia from 2011 to 2013, where he led North Cross to the VISAA state tournament where they upset Carlisle School in the semifinals and went on to play for the state title, but came up just short. He then coached the girls team at The Villages Charter High School in The Villages, Florida as of the 2016–17 season.[6][7][8]
Hodges also coached golf at Armstrong Atlantic State University before moving to Indiana State. He is a Vietnam-era veteran of the United States Air Force.[9]
Inducted in 1999, Hodges is a member of the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 1978–79 men's basketball team.[10]
In 2019, Hodges was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame individually.[11]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indiana State Sycamores (Missouri Valley Conference) (1979–1982) | |||||||||
| 1978–79 | Indiana State | 33–1 | 16–0 | 1st | NCAA Division I Runner-up | ||||
| 1979–80 | Indiana State | 16–11 | 8–8 | T–5th | |||||
| 1980–81 | Indiana State | 9–18 | 4–12 | 8th | |||||
| 1981–82 | Indiana State | 9–18 | 2–14 | T–9th | |||||
| Indiana State: | 67–48 | 30–34 | |||||||
| Georgia College Bobcats (Peach Belt Conference) (1986–1991) | |||||||||
| 1986–87 | Georgia College | 17–14 | |||||||
| 1987–88 | Georgia College | 25–9 | NAIA First Round | ||||||
| 1988–89 | Georgia College | 25–10 | NAIA First Round | ||||||
| 1989–90 | Georgia College | 24–8 | NAIA First Round | ||||||
| 1990–91 | Georgia College | 19–12 | 6–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| Georgia College: | 110–53 | ||||||||
| Mercer Bears (Trans America Athletic Conference) (1991–1997) | |||||||||
| 1991–92 | Mercer | 11–18 | 6–8 | T–5th | |||||
| 1992–93 | Mercer | 13–14 | 7–5 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1993–94 | Mercer | 5–24 | 3–14 | 9th | |||||
| 1994–95 | Mercer | 15–14 | 8–8 | 4th | |||||
| 1995–96 | Mercer | 15–14 | 7–9 | 4th (West) | |||||
| 1996–97 | Mercer | 3–23 | 1–15 | 6th (West) | |||||
| Mercer: | 62–107 | 32–59 | |||||||
| Total: | 239–208 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
- LaGree, Bret. "Book Review: When March Went Mad".
- "Former Indiana State coach Bill Hodges fondly remembers Sycamores' run to 1979 NCAA title game". syracuse. March 17, 2011.
- Paikert, Mark Mehler and Charles. "Excerpt: Remembering Magic vs. Bird in 1979 final". Sports Illustrated.
- General, Robby. "40 years later, Indiana State celebrates 1979 national runner-up team". The Indianapolis Star.
- "Bill Hodges Coaching Record". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
- Jolley, Frank. "Coach Bill Hodges loving new challenge at The Villages". Daily Commercial.
- Doughty 981-3129, Doug. "Veteran coach Bill Hodges moves from Roanoke Catholic to North Cross". Roanoke Times.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - "MBB: Bill Hodges #MarchWentMad". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05.
- "Bill Hodges' career took long and winding road after taking Indiana State to '79 Final Four". syracuse.com. March 17, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
- "1978–79 Men's Basketball Team – Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame". Indiana State Sycamores. August 21, 1999. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
- "Bill Hodges (2019) - Hall of Fame". Indiana State University Athletics.