Bill Blakeley
Bill Blakeley (1934-2010)
Teams coached: North Texas State Mean Green
North Texas record: 134-85 (.612)
Overall record^: 134-85 (.612)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1975-1983 | North Texas State |
| 1970-1971 | Dallas Chaparrals |
| 1966-1970 | Christian College of the Southwest |
Bill Blakeley Facts
- Billy Buie Blakeley
- Born June 13, 1934
- Died October 27, 2010
- Hometown: Wills Point, Texas
- Alma Mater: Abilene Christian University (BA, 1956)
- The Van Zandt County, TX native played basketball for head coach Dee Nutt at Abilene Christian
- Started coaching at the prep level, becoming an assistant at St. Mark’s School in Dallas in 1957; became the head coach there in 1958
- Won four state championships in eight seasons as head coach, going 198-80 overall including a 33-1 record in 1965-66
- Also served as the school’s head tennis coach, going an incredible 203-2 overall
- Moved to the JUCO level in 1966, spending the next four years as head coach at the Christian College of the Southwest (TX)
- CCSW dropped basketball in 1970 due to financial issues and Blakeley moved on to ABA, becoming head coach of the Dallas Chaparrals
- Hired in 1975 to be the head coach at North Texas State, taking over a team that had gone just 6-20 the year before
- Went 22-4 in his first year, achieving a Top 20 national ranking for the first time in program history
- The Mean Green were never invited to the NCAA Tournament or NIT under Blakeley, despite winning 20+ games three times in six years; the program was an Independent at the time, which caused scheduling and recruiting issues that frustrated Blakeley
- Stopped coaching in 1983 and the following year became president of his son’s sports agency, spending the rest of his professional career working in athlete and talent management
- Represented a number of NBA and NFL players, including Akeem Olajuwon, Karl Malone, Joe Dumars, Will Perdue, Spud Webb, Mookie Blaylock, Rolando Blackman, Herschel Walker and others
- Inducted into the Abilene Christian Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 and the North Texas Athletic Hall of Fame in 2002
Bill Blakeley Coaching Tree
- Jimmy Gales (North Texas)
- Billy Tubbs (Lamar, TCU, Oklahoma)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I level only
