Cal Luther
Cal Luther (born October 23, 1927)
Teams coached: DePauw Tigers, Murray State Racers, Longwood Lancers, Tennessee-Martin Skyhawks, Bethel Wildcats
DePauw record^: 45-50 (.474)
Murray State record: 241-154 (.610)
Longwood record^: 136-105 (.564)
Tennessee-Martin record^: 72-163 (.306)
Bethel record: 6-27 (.182)
Overall record: 500-499 (.501)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1964, 1969)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- Ohio Valley Regular Season Champion: 3 (1964, 1968, 1969)
- Mason-Dixon (Div II) Conference Champion: 1 (1988)
- ICC (Div II) Regular Season Champion: 1 (1957)
- Ohio Valley Tournament Champion: 1 (1964)
Awards:
- Ohio Valley Coach of the Year: 3 (1964, 1969, 1996)
- Mason-Dixon (Div II) Coach of the Year: 1 (1988)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1999-2000 | Bethel (TN) |
| 1990-1999 | Tennessee-Martin |
| 1981-1990 | Longwood |
| 1958-1974 | Murray State |
| 1954-1958 | DePauw |
| 1951-1954 | Illinois (freshmen) |
Cal Luther Facts
- Calvin Charles Luther
- Born October 23, 1927
- Hometown: Valdosta, Georgia
- Alma Mater: Valparaiso University (BA, 1951) / University of Illinois (MA, 1954)
- Born in Valdosta, GA, Luther graduated from Bay View HS in Milwaukee, WI
- Spent two years in the US Army and then played at Valparaiso under head coach Wilbur Allen
- Joined Harry Combes‘ staff at Illinois in 1951, coaching the freshmen team while earning his master’s
- Hired in 1954 to be the head coach at Div-II DePauw University in Greencastle, IN
- Went 45-50 in four seasons, winning the Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) in 1957
- Left for Murray State in 1958, leading the Racers for the next 16 seasons
- Compiled a 241-154 record, winning the OVC three times and going to two NCAA Tournaments
- Finished above .500 in fourteen-straight seasons (1959-73)
- Served as athletic director from 1967-78, including four years after he stopped coaching
- Returned to coaching in 1981, taking over at then-Division II Longwood in Farmville, VA
- Went 136-105 over nine seasons, winning the Mason-Dixon Conference title in 1988
- Served as head coach of Egyptian National Team at the 1990 FIBA World Championship (finished 16th out of 16)
- Left for Tennessee-Martin in 1990, helping transition that program from Division II to Division I
- Was 72-163 overall, 58-129 in seven seasons of Division I play
- Named OVC COY in 1996, becoming the first coach to win the award at two different programs (won it in both 1964 and 1969 while head coach at Murray State)
- Spent one year as head coach at NAIA Bethel College (TN) before retiring from coaching in 2000
Cal Luther Coaching Tree
- Ron Greene (Indiana State, Murray State, Mississippi State, New Orleans, Loyola LA)
- Fred Overton (Murray State)
^ overall records include head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I, Division II and NAIA levels; Longwood was a Division II program during Luther’s tenure there and Tennessee-Martin transitioned from Division II to Division I with Luther at the helm
