Bill Foster (college basketball coach)
Encyclopedia
Bill Foster was the head men's basketball
coach
at Rutgers University
, University of Utah
, Duke University
, University of South Carolina
, and Northwestern University
. He is best known for guiding Duke to the NCAA
championship game in 1978, and that year he was named national Coach of the Year
by the National Association of Basketball Coaches
. Foster has been inducted into the Rutgers Basketball Hall of Fame and was the first NCAA coach to guide four different teams to 20-win seasons (Rutgers, Utah, Duke, and South Carolina).
, near Philadelphia. After serving in the U.S. Air Force
, he graduated from Elizabethtown College
in Elizabethtown
, Pennsylvania, in 1954 with a bachelor of science degree.
was the daughter of Harry Litwack
, the longtime basketball coach at Temple University
. Foster and Litwack became friends and business partners, and for about 25 years they operated a popular summer basketball camp in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains.
In 1960, Foster was hired as the head coach at Bloomsburg State College (now Bloomsburg University), a Division II school in eastern Pennsylvania, where he compiled a 45-11 record over three years.
, the first time the school had qualified for postseason play.
. Though his stay with the Utes was short, in three seasons (1971-74), he led the Utes to a 43-39 (.524) record. He also guided the Utes to the 1974 NIT Championship game, where they finished runner-up to Purdue University
. Finishing with a 22-8 record, Foster became the head coach at Duke University.
pulled off a shocker in upsetting the Tar Heels 99-96 in overtime. Foster began to slowly rebuild the program, bringing in one future great player a year. First, it was future All-American Jim Spanarkel
in 1975, then future Duke great Mike Gminski
in 1976. Those two joined senior prolific scorer Tate Armstrong
for the 1976-77 season and things appeared early that Duke was back. The Devils started out 12-3 that year with wins over 15th ranked N.C. State and later at 15th ranked Tennessee. But it would not last. In a game up at Virginia, Tate Armstrong suffered a broken wrist and was lost for the season. The young Blue Devils full of potential but still a fragile unit would never recover but the next year would produce a season that would nearly stun the college basketball world.
In addition to talented returnees Spanarkel and Gminski, Foster added Indiana transfer Bob Bender
who was on the Hoosiers legendary undefeated 1976 NCAA Champions and stunned everyone by getting a verbal commitment from one of the top players in America, Gene Banks
. Joining Banks were two good players in Kenny Dennard and John Harrell from nearby North Carolina Central University
. The 1977-78 Duke Blue Devils begin to gain steam after a mid January 92-84 win over 2nd ranked North Carolina. Duke would win 15 of their final 19 games, en route to a 27-7 season, a final ranking of 7th, a long awaited ACC Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Final Four. But the ride was supposed to end as Duke would be facing a 6th ranked Notre Dame team in the semi-final that fielded eight future NBA players. But Duke scored the upset 90-86, setting up the 1978 NCAA championship game with powerhouse Kentucky. Duke fought admirably, but Kentucky was too experienced and had the weight of the world on their shoulders from fans back in the bluegrass who wanted that long awaited title. Still, despite the loss the future looked tremendous for Duke.
The 1978-79 season saw Duke as the nation's preseason No. 1-ranked team. The Devils dispatched 14th-ranked North Carolina to win the Big Four Tournament for the first time, but chemistry issues and bad luck with injuries would not recapture the magic of 1978. Duke shared the ACC regular season title, but illness and injury derailed both their ACC tournament and NCAA tournament hopes as Duke finished 22-8 and 11th in the AP poll. Duke had another solid season in 1979-80, defeating second-ranked Kentucky in an early-season matchup and winning another Big Four Tournament over 6th ranked North Carolina 86-74. Duke would assume the nation's No. 1 ranking for several weeks and start out 12-0 on the year. But an injury to valuable forward Kenny Dennard sent the team into an up-and-down league season. After Dennard returned, Duke regrouped and won the 1980 ACC tournament, finished 14th in the AP poll, tallied a 24-9 season, advancing to the Elite Eight after an upset of Kentucky in the sweet 16 in Rupp Arena.
Foster guided Duke to a 113-64 (.638) record from 1975-80. He was named ACC
coach of the year in 1978, won two ACC championships, as well as winning two Big Four titles, an ACC regular season title and of course leading Duke to the 1978 NCAA Final Four where they finished NCAA runner-up. While Foster is overlooked in the wake of the achievements of Duke coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Vic Bubas
, the Foster era returned Duke to national prominence and paved the way for Krzyzewski's success.
The 1977-78 Blue Devils were the subject of John Feinstein
's 1989 book "Forever's Team."
, succeeding legendary coach Frank McGuire
. In December 1983, Foster's health became an issue when he suffered what doctors called a "moderate heart attack." He became ill late in a game against Purdue, which South Carolina won, 59-53, and later collapsed in the dressing room. Although he would recover, he was never quite the same as a coach and would eventually resign in 1986 after a losing season. In 1987, the NCAA placed the program on two years' probation for rules violations that occurred during Foster's tenure.
Foster's departure from Duke paved the way for Mike Krzyzewski, a young coach from Army
to take the Blue Devil job. Krzyzewski has won 827 games and four national championships in 31 seasons in Durham.
, where he would finish his coaching career. Although he compiled a winning nonconference record, including victories over regional rivals Marquette, DePaul and Loyola of Chicago, he wasn't able to compete with the Big Ten's powerhouse programs for top talent, and the Wildcats finished last in the conference in six of his seven seasons.
A highlight of Foster's tenure was a nationally televised upset of defending national champion Indiana
in 1988.
But the program was decimated in 1990 when four of Northwestern's more talented players transferred out of the program, including Rex Walters
, who left for Kansas (and was later a first-round pick in the 1993 NBA Draft
).
The next season, Northwestern went winless in the Big Ten. But two freshman starters on that 1990-91 squad, point guard Patrick Baldwin and forward-center Kevin Rankin
, would go on to lead the Wildcats to the 1994 NIT
as seniors.
That 1993-94 team, however, would not be coached by Foster. When Northwestern Athletic Director Bruce Corrie resigned in April 1993, Foster agreed to step aside as men's basketball coach and become interim athletic director. Foster hired Ricky Byrdsong
as his successor as coach, then continued as athletic director until January 1994, when Rick Taylor was hired as the school's permanent athletic director.
and the Big 12 Conference
. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Foster is the author of four books, including "Upward Mobility in Coaching Basketball" and "Filling Seats=Dollars."
College basketball
College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....
coach
Coach (basketball)
Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behaviour of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as well as overall physical conditioning.Coaching is...
at Rutgers University
Rutgers University
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey , is the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey, United States. It was originally chartered as Queen's College in 1766. It is the eighth-oldest college in the United States and one of the nine Colonial colleges founded before the American...
, University of Utah
University of Utah
The University of Utah, also known as the U or the U of U, is a public, coeducational research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. The university was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret by the General Assembly of the provisional State of Deseret, making it Utah's oldest...
, Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
, University of South Carolina
University of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
, and Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. He is best known for guiding Duke to the NCAA
National Collegiate Athletic Association
The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...
championship game in 1978, and that year he was named national Coach of the Year
NABC Coach of the Year
The NABC Coach of the Year Award has been presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches since 1959. It is currently sponsored by the UPS Store.-Award winners:-External links:*...
by the National Association of Basketball Coaches
National Association of Basketball Coaches
The National Association of Basketball Coaches , headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of college men's basketball coaches...
. Foster has been inducted into the Rutgers Basketball Hall of Fame and was the first NCAA coach to guide four different teams to 20-win seasons (Rutgers, Utah, Duke, and South Carolina).
Early life
Foster grew up in Norwood, PennsylvaniaNorwood, Pennsylvania
Norwood is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 5,985 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Norwood is located at ....
, near Philadelphia. After serving in the U.S. Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
, he graduated from Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College
Elizabethtown College is a small comprehensive college located in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania in Lancaster County. The school was founded in 1899 by members of the Church of the Brethren...
in Elizabethtown
Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania
Elizabethtown is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, southeast of Harrisburg. Small factories existed at the turn of the century when the population in 1900 was 1,861. There was a slight increase in the next decade, with 1,970 people living in Elizabethtown in 1910. As of the 2000 census,...
, Pennsylvania, in 1954 with a bachelor of science degree.
Coaching career
Foster began his coaching career at Philadelphia-area high schools in the 1950s. One of his students in a typing class at Abington Senior High SchoolAbington Senior High School
Abington Senior High School is a three-year co-educational high school in Abington, Pennsylvania. The school was a two-year high school known as Abington South Campus until June 1983. In September 1984, Abington South Campus became a three-year high school and eventually changed its name to...
was the daughter of Harry Litwack
Harry Litwack
Harold "Chief" Litwack was a college men's basketball coach. He served as head coach of Temple University from 1947 to 1973, compiling a 373-193 record....
, the longtime basketball coach at Temple University
Temple University
Temple University is a comprehensive public research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Originally founded in 1884 by Dr. Russell Conwell, Temple University is among the nation's largest providers of professional education and prepares the largest body of professional...
. Foster and Litwack became friends and business partners, and for about 25 years they operated a popular summer basketball camp in Pennsylvania's Pocono Mountains.
In 1960, Foster was hired as the head coach at Bloomsburg State College (now Bloomsburg University), a Division II school in eastern Pennsylvania, where he compiled a 45-11 record over three years.
Rutgers
Foster's Division I career began in 1963 at Rutgers University, where he led the Scarlet Knights to an overall record of 120-75 (.615) in eight seasons. In the 1966-1967 season, the Scarlet Knights finished with a record of 22-7 and was invited to the NIT1967 National Invitation Tournament
The 1967 National Invitation Tournament was the 1967 edition of the annual NCAA college basketball competition.-Selected teams:Below is a list of the 14 teams selected for the tournament.-Brackets/Results:Below is the tournament bracket....
, the first time the school had qualified for postseason play.
Utah
After the 1971 season, Foster took the head coaching job at the University of Utah, replacing legendary Utah basketball coach Jack GardnerJack Gardner (basketball)
-Head Coaching Record at Utah:-External links:*...
. Though his stay with the Utes was short, in three seasons (1971-74), he led the Utes to a 43-39 (.524) record. He also guided the Utes to the 1974 NIT Championship game, where they finished runner-up to Purdue University
Purdue University
Purdue University, located in West Lafayette, Indiana, U.S., is the flagship university of the six-campus Purdue University system. Purdue was founded on May 6, 1869, as a land-grant university when the Indiana General Assembly, taking advantage of the Morrill Act, accepted a donation of land and...
. Finishing with a 22-8 record, Foster became the head coach at Duke University.
Duke
Bill Foster's greatest success as a head coach would come at Duke University, taking over a struggling program with a proud history that was searching for stability and strong leadership. Duke was only one of eight schools at that time to have hit the 1,000th victory plateau and the program in its seemingly forgotten past had once seen Final Fours and Conference championships. "I knew Duke from the Bubas years when they were great, and I thought they could be great again, should be great again. I was a little shocked when they offered me the job, it just seemed like a great place to coach." Foster once said. 1974-75, Foster's first season saw few highlights, but there was one. In the early 1970s the four North Carolina schools participated in a tournament called "The Big Four Tournament." Duke, taking on 8th ranked arch-rival North CarolinaUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is a public research university located in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States...
pulled off a shocker in upsetting the Tar Heels 99-96 in overtime. Foster began to slowly rebuild the program, bringing in one future great player a year. First, it was future All-American Jim Spanarkel
Jim Spanarkel
James Gerard Spanarkel is an American television analyst for the National Basketball Association. Spanarkel, who himself was a professional basketball player, was selected 16th overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers and traded to the Dallas Mavericks in 1980...
in 1975, then future Duke great Mike Gminski
Mike Gminski
Michael Thomas Gminski is a retired American college and professional basketball player. Gminski played his high school ball for Masuk High School in Monroe, CT. From there he played four seasons with the Duke Blue Devils, from 1977 to 1980. He led the team in scoring during his junior and senior...
in 1976. Those two joined senior prolific scorer Tate Armstrong
Tate Armstrong
Michel Taylor "Tate" Armstrong is a retired American basketball player.A 6'3" guard from Duke University, Armstrong won a gold medal with the United States national basketball team at the 1976 Summer Olympics...
for the 1976-77 season and things appeared early that Duke was back. The Devils started out 12-3 that year with wins over 15th ranked N.C. State and later at 15th ranked Tennessee. But it would not last. In a game up at Virginia, Tate Armstrong suffered a broken wrist and was lost for the season. The young Blue Devils full of potential but still a fragile unit would never recover but the next year would produce a season that would nearly stun the college basketball world.
In addition to talented returnees Spanarkel and Gminski, Foster added Indiana transfer Bob Bender
Bob Bender
Robert Michael "Bob" Bender is a basketball coach, currently working as an assistant with the NBA's Atlanta Hawks. He attended Bloomington High School in Bloomington, IL, where he was an All-American in basketball. He began his college career at Indiana University, under Bobby Knight...
who was on the Hoosiers legendary undefeated 1976 NCAA Champions and stunned everyone by getting a verbal commitment from one of the top players in America, Gene Banks
Gene Banks
Eugene Lavon "Gene" Banks is a retired American professional basketball player. He is one of a handful of players to make high school All-America three times.-College & NBA Years:...
. Joining Banks were two good players in Kenny Dennard and John Harrell from nearby North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University
North Carolina Central University is a public historically black university in the University of North Carolina system, located in Durham, North Carolina, offering programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, professional and doctoral levels....
. The 1977-78 Duke Blue Devils begin to gain steam after a mid January 92-84 win over 2nd ranked North Carolina. Duke would win 15 of their final 19 games, en route to a 27-7 season, a final ranking of 7th, a long awaited ACC Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Final Four. But the ride was supposed to end as Duke would be facing a 6th ranked Notre Dame team in the semi-final that fielded eight future NBA players. But Duke scored the upset 90-86, setting up the 1978 NCAA championship game with powerhouse Kentucky. Duke fought admirably, but Kentucky was too experienced and had the weight of the world on their shoulders from fans back in the bluegrass who wanted that long awaited title. Still, despite the loss the future looked tremendous for Duke.
The 1978-79 season saw Duke as the nation's preseason No. 1-ranked team. The Devils dispatched 14th-ranked North Carolina to win the Big Four Tournament for the first time, but chemistry issues and bad luck with injuries would not recapture the magic of 1978. Duke shared the ACC regular season title, but illness and injury derailed both their ACC tournament and NCAA tournament hopes as Duke finished 22-8 and 11th in the AP poll. Duke had another solid season in 1979-80, defeating second-ranked Kentucky in an early-season matchup and winning another Big Four Tournament over 6th ranked North Carolina 86-74. Duke would assume the nation's No. 1 ranking for several weeks and start out 12-0 on the year. But an injury to valuable forward Kenny Dennard sent the team into an up-and-down league season. After Dennard returned, Duke regrouped and won the 1980 ACC tournament, finished 14th in the AP poll, tallied a 24-9 season, advancing to the Elite Eight after an upset of Kentucky in the sweet 16 in Rupp Arena.
Foster guided Duke to a 113-64 (.638) record from 1975-80. He was named ACC
Atlantic Coast Conference
The Atlantic Coast Conference is a collegiate athletic league in the United States. Founded in 1953 in Greensboro, North Carolina, the ACC sanctions competition in twenty-five sports in Division I of the National Collegiate Athletic Association for its twelve member universities...
coach of the year in 1978, won two ACC championships, as well as winning two Big Four titles, an ACC regular season title and of course leading Duke to the 1978 NCAA Final Four where they finished NCAA runner-up. While Foster is overlooked in the wake of the achievements of Duke coaches Mike Krzyzewski and Vic Bubas
Vic Bubas
Vic Bubas is a former basketball coach of Duke University.-Early life:Bubas graduated from Gary Lew Wallace High School in 1944. He then went on to North Carolina State University where he played for Everett Case. Bubas was an All-Southern Conference selection twice...
, the Foster era returned Duke to national prominence and paved the way for Krzyzewski's success.
The 1977-78 Blue Devils were the subject of John Feinstein
John Feinstein
John Feinstein is an American sportswriter, author and sports commentator who wrote the top two best-selling non-fiction sports books in history, A Good Walk Spoiled and A Season on the Brink.-Early life:...
's 1989 book "Forever's Team."
South Carolina
Foster left Duke after six seasons to become the head coach at the University of South CarolinaUniversity of South Carolina
The University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...
, succeeding legendary coach Frank McGuire
Frank McGuire
Frank Joseph McGuire was an American athletic coach who gained his greatest renown in collegiate basketball....
. In December 1983, Foster's health became an issue when he suffered what doctors called a "moderate heart attack." He became ill late in a game against Purdue, which South Carolina won, 59-53, and later collapsed in the dressing room. Although he would recover, he was never quite the same as a coach and would eventually resign in 1986 after a losing season. In 1987, the NCAA placed the program on two years' probation for rules violations that occurred during Foster's tenure.
Foster's departure from Duke paved the way for Mike Krzyzewski, a young coach from Army
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
to take the Blue Devil job. Krzyzewski has won 827 games and four national championships in 31 seasons in Durham.
Northwestern
In April 1986 Foster was named head coach at Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
, where he would finish his coaching career. Although he compiled a winning nonconference record, including victories over regional rivals Marquette, DePaul and Loyola of Chicago, he wasn't able to compete with the Big Ten's powerhouse programs for top talent, and the Wildcats finished last in the conference in six of his seven seasons.
A highlight of Foster's tenure was a nationally televised upset of defending national champion Indiana
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball
The Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball team is the intercollegiate men's basketball program representing Indiana University . The school competes in the Big Ten Conference in Division I of the NCAA. The Hoosiers play on Branch McCracken Court at the Assembly Hall in Bloomington, Indiana on the IU...
in 1988.
But the program was decimated in 1990 when four of Northwestern's more talented players transferred out of the program, including Rex Walters
Rex Walters
-External links:...
, who left for Kansas (and was later a first-round pick in the 1993 NBA Draft
1993 NBA Draft
The 1993 NBA Draft took place on June 30, 1993 in Auburn Hills, Michigan. The draft had some talented players at the top, but injuries and personal problems hurt many of them. Anfernee Hardaway, Allan Houston, and Jamal Mashburn all looked like possible Hall of Famers until their careers were cut...
).
The next season, Northwestern went winless in the Big Ten. But two freshman starters on that 1990-91 squad, point guard Patrick Baldwin and forward-center Kevin Rankin
Kevin Rankin
Kevin Rankin is a retired American/Turkish professional basketball player. He stands 2.10 m tall and played the power forward and center positions.-Amateur career:...
, would go on to lead the Wildcats to the 1994 NIT
1994 National Invitation Tournament
-Semifinals & Finals:*Third Place - Siena 92, Kansas State 79...
as seniors.
That 1993-94 team, however, would not be coached by Foster. When Northwestern Athletic Director Bruce Corrie resigned in April 1993, Foster agreed to step aside as men's basketball coach and become interim athletic director. Foster hired Ricky Byrdsong
Ricky Byrdsong
Ricky Byrdsong was an insurance executive and former African American men's basketball coach who was murdered in a hate crime.- Career :...
as his successor as coach, then continued as athletic director until January 1994, when Rick Taylor was hired as the school's permanent athletic director.
Later career
After leaving Northwestern, Foster became associate commissioner and director of basketball operations for the now-defunct Southwest Conference. He later worked as a consultant with the Western Athletic ConferenceWestern Athletic Conference
The Western Athletic Conference is an American collegiate athletic conference, which was formed on July 27, 1962, making it the sixth oldest of the 11 college athletic conferences currently participating in the NCAA's Division I FBS...
and the Big 12 Conference
Big 12 Conference
The Big 12 Conference is a college athletic conference of ten schools located in the Central United States, with its headquarters located in Las Colinas, a community in the Dallas, Texas suburb of Irving...
. He is a member of the board of trustees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass.
Foster is the author of four books, including "Upward Mobility in Coaching Basketball" and "Filling Seats=Dollars."