Bill Oates

Bill Oates (1939-2020)

Teams coached: Saint Mary’s Gaels, Menlo Oaks
Saint Mary’s record: 84-105 (.444)
Menlo record: 78-51 (.605)
Overall record^: 162-156 (.509)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • WCC Regular Season Champion:  1  (1980)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1993-2006 The Master’s
1988-1993 Menlo
1979-1986 Saint Mary’s
1970-1975 Santa Ana College

Bill Oates Facts

  • Bill Oates
  • Born October 15, 1939
  • Died February 5, 2020
  • Alma Mater: Occidental College (BA, 1961)
  • Played for head coach Grant L. Dunlap at Occidental College in Los Angeles from 1958-61
  • In five years as head coach at Santa Ana College, Oates went 95-55 and won two South Coast Conference (CCCAA) titles
  • Spent four years (1975-79) coaching and running the basketball program at Athletes in Action (AIA), a Christian sports organization
    • Oates coached the US men’s national team at the 1978 FIBA World Championship in the Phillipines, finishing in 5th place with a team composed largely of players from his AIA program
  • Hired in 1979 to the head coach at D-I Saint Mary’s College (CA), leading the Gaels for seven seasons
  • Later jobs include a five-year stint at then-Division III Menlo College (CA) and a 13-year tenure at The Master’s University (non-NCAA)
    • Was also athletic director at The Master’s; was inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame in 2012 as a coach/admininstrator
  • Passed away in October 2020 at the age of 80

Bill Oates Coaching Tree

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I and Division III levels only