Bebe Lee
H.B. “Bebe” Lee (1916-2013)
Teams coached: Utah State Aggies, Colorado A&M Rams, Colorado Buffaloes
Utah State record: 21-22 (.488)
Colorado A&M record: 7-23 (.233)
Colorado record: 63-74 (.460)
Overall record: 91-119 (.433)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1954, 1955)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 2 (1954, 1955)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 1 (1955)
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- Big Seven Regular Season Champion: 2 (1954, 1955)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1950-1956 | Colorado |
1949-1950 | Colorado A&M |
1945-1947 | Utah State |
Bebe Lee Facts
- H.B. “Bebe” Lee
- Born December 3, 1916
- Died March 31, 2013
- Hometown: Dallas, Texas
- Alma Mater: Stanford University (BA, 1945)
- The Dallas-native played for Hall of Fame head coach Everett Dean and the Stanford Cardinal
- Got into coaching right after graduation, spending two years as the head coach at Utah State
- Went 21-22 overall, improving from 7-12 in his first season to 14-10 in his second
- Spent one years as the head coach at Colorado A&M (now State), going just 7-23
- Final coaching role as a six-year stint at Colorado, where he rebuilt the Buffs into a winning program
- After going just 4-20 and 8-16 in his first two season, Lee’s 1954 and 1955 teams won Big Seven titles and reached the NCAA Tournament; the latter team reached the 1955 NCAA Final Four
- Left CU in 1956 to become the athletic director at Kansas State; served in that capacity for 12 years
- Was just 39 when he took over, becoming the youngest AD in the Big Seven Conference
- During his tenure as AD, the basketball team was coached by Tex Winter and reached two Final Fours
- Led the purchase of new land that would eventual house Bill Snyder Family Stadium (football) and new practice facilities for the baseball, basketball, track and field and other indoor programs
- Inducted into the K-State Athletics Hall of Fame in 2013
- Left in 1968 to star his own business, a video company, a remained in the private sector until retirement
- Passed away in 2013 at the age of 96 in Southport, North Carolina, where he was living in hospice
Bebe Lee Coaching Tree
- Glen Anderson (Iowa State)
- Sox Walseth (Colorado, South Dakota State)