Ray Mears, the man credited with bringing Wittenberg men’s basketball into national prominence, died June 11 at the age of 80.

Also the winningest coach in University of Tennessee men’s basketball history, Mears, a 1949 graduate of Miami University, took the reins of Wittenberg’s struggling program in 1956 and immediately turned the Tigers into the small college powerhouse of today. In his six years in Springfield, Mears compiled a 121-23 record, good for an astounding .840 winning percentage. His teams captured three Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) regular season titles, three OAC Tournament titles and the 1961 NCAA College Division crown, and his Tiger teams were the No. 1 ranked defensive team in the nation four times.

Mears left Wittenberg in 1963 to become head coach at the University of Tennessee, where he led the Volunteers to seven national tournament appearances and three Southeastern Conference (SEC) titles. Mears was named SEC Coach of the Year in 1967

A 1987 Wittenberg Athletics Hall of Honor inductee and recipient of the 1996 Golden Anniversary Award, given by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, Mears leaves his wife Dana Davis Mears ’61 and their three sons.

– Ryan Maurer