The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2023
Adolph Rupp
- Contest: The US Athletic Hall of Fame - Coaches 2023
- Embed from Getty Images
- Sport(s): Basketball
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Statistics:
4 NCAA Division I Tournament Wins (1948, 1949, 1951 & 1958)
6 NCAA Division I Final Fours (1942, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1958 & 1966)
27 SEC Regular Season Championships (1933, 1935, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1954, 1955, 1957, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 & 1972)
13 SEC Tournament Wins (1933, 1937, 1939, 1940, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1950 & 1952)
1 SoCon Regular Season Championship (1932)
5 National Coach of the Year Awards (1950, 1954, 1959, 1966 & 1970)
7 SEC Coach of the Year Awards (1964, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971 & 1972)
876-190 NCAA Record
Member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame
Member of the College Basketball Hall of Fame -
Adolph Rupp became the men's head basketball coach at the University of Kentucky in 1930, and he stayed in that capacity until 1972. While it is often hyperbole to use the term "put ___ on the map," is it wrong to say that Rupp did that with Kentucky in regards to not just basketball but team sports?
In the 42 years that Rupp was the head coach, Kentucky was focused on fundamentals and repetition. Creating a well-oiled machine, Rupp’s Wildcats won four NCAA Tournaments and won the SEC regular season 27 times. Rupp was also named the National Coach of the Year five times.
Rupp retired with 876 wins and a career winning percentage of .822, which is second all-time behind only Clair Bee. While it was alleged that he was racist (he did not recruit a black player until 1970), it was also conjectured that he wanted to, but in the SEC, that was widely frowned upon.
As usual, legacies are complicated.
We are proud to nominate Adolph Rupp for the United States Athletic Hall of Fame.
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