Rene Herrerias
Encyclopedia
Rene Herrerias is an American basketball
coach. He served as head coach at University of California, Berkeley
from 1960 to 1968. Herrerias played college basketball at the University of San Francisco
, where he was a member of the 1949 NIT
championship team coached by Pete Newell
. He followed Newell into coaching and was an assistant coach with Cal's 1959 NCAA championship team. Herrerias succeeded Newell as Cal's head coach in 1960. He was forced to resign in 1968 because of a dispute with an African-American athlete Bob Presley. He was accused of treating his minority athletes unfairly, although he is a minority (Mexican-American) himself. The dispute arose from a team requirement being short clean cut hair for all players (a requirement for most teams) though Presley refused. Then being absent for several team practices and calling the coaching staff "incompetent" bared him from participation. Herrerias has a record of 92-100 in his eight seasons at Cal.
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
coach. He served as head coach at University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
from 1960 to 1968. Herrerias played college basketball at the University of San Francisco
University of San Francisco
The University of San Francisco , is a private, Jesuit/Catholic university located in San Francisco, California. Founded in 1855, USF was established as the first university in San Francisco. It is the second oldest institution for higher learning in California and the tenth-oldest university of...
, where he was a member of the 1949 NIT
National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament is a men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association. There are two NIT events each season. The first, played in November and known as the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off , was founded in 1985...
championship team coached by Pete Newell
Pete Newell
Peter Francis Newell was an American college men's basketball coach and basketball instructional coach. He coached for 15 years at the University of San Francisco, Michigan State University and the University of California, Berkeley, compiling an overall record of 234 wins and 123 losses...
. He followed Newell into coaching and was an assistant coach with Cal's 1959 NCAA championship team. Herrerias succeeded Newell as Cal's head coach in 1960. He was forced to resign in 1968 because of a dispute with an African-American athlete Bob Presley. He was accused of treating his minority athletes unfairly, although he is a minority (Mexican-American) himself. The dispute arose from a team requirement being short clean cut hair for all players (a requirement for most teams) though Presley refused. Then being absent for several team practices and calling the coaching staff "incompetent" bared him from participation. Herrerias has a record of 92-100 in his eight seasons at Cal.