Bill E. Foster
Bill E. Foster (1929-2016)
Teams coached: Bloomsburg State Huskies, Rutgers Scarlet Knights, Utah Utes, Duke Blue Devils, South Carolina Gamecocks, Northwestern Wildcats
Bloomsburg State record^: 45-11 (.804)
Rutgers record: 120-75 (.615)
Utah record: 43-39 (.524)
Duke record: 113-64 (.638)
South Carolina record: 92-79 (.538)
Northwestern record: 54-141 (.277)
Overall record^: 467-409 (.533)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 1978)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 3 (1978, 1979, 1980)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 2 (1978, 1980)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 1 (1978)
- NIT Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 1974)
- NIT Appearances: 4 (1967, 1969, 1974, 1983)
- ACC Tournament Champion: 2 (1978, 1980)
Awards:
- NABC Coach of the Year: 1 (1978)
- Sporting News Coach of the Year: 1 (1978)
- ACC Coach of the Year: 1 (1978)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1986-1993 | Northwestern |
| 1980-1986 | South Carolina |
| 1974-1980 | Duke |
| 1971-1974 | Utah |
| 1963-1971 | Rutgers |
| 1960-1963 | Bloomsburg State |
Bill E. Foster Facts
- William Edwin Foster
- Born August 19, 1929
- Died January 7, 2016
- Hometown: Norwood, Pennsylvania
- Alma Mater: Elizabethtown College (BS, 1954)
- Served the U.S. Air Force after high school before enrolling at Elizabethtown College (PA)
- Started coaching at the high school level in Philadelphia
- Coached Division II Bloomsburg State for three seasons, compiling an overall record of 45-11
- Spent eight seasons as the head coach at Rutgers, leading the Knights to two NIT appearances and winning 120 games
- Moved on to Utah in 1971, finishing as the NIT Runner-up in 1974, his third and final year with the Utes
- Started his successful tenure with Duke in 1974, leading the Blue Devils for six seasons
- In each of his final three years at Duke, Foster’s teams reached the NCAA Tournament and in 1978 finished as Runner-up
- Spent six seasons at South Carolina and seven at Northwestern, but failed to return to the NCAA Tournament at either stop
- After coaching, was Assoc Commissioner and Director of Basketball Ops for the Southwest Conference until it folded in 1996
- Operated a summer basketball camp in the Poconos with Harry Litwack for 25 years
- Met Litwack early in his coaching career, as Litwack’s daughter was in Foster’s class at Abington Senior HS (PA)
- Served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Naismith Memorial Basketball HOF from 1996 to 1998
Bill E. Foster Coaching Tree
- Patrick Baldwin (Milwaukee)
- Bob Bender (Washington, Illinois State)
- Tim Carter (South Carolina State, UTSA, Omaha)
- Rick Duckett (Grambling State, Winston-Salem State, Fayetteville State)
- Lou Goetz (Richmond)
- Kurt Kanaskie (Drake, IUP, Lock Haven)
- Richard Lloyd (Rutgers)
- Jerry Pimm (UC Santa Barbara, Utah)
- Steve Steinwedel (Delaware)
- Jim Valvano (NC State, Iona, Bucknell, Johns Hopkins)
- Rex Walters (San Francisco, Florida Atlantic)
- Bob Wenzel (Rutgers, Jacksonville)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division II levels