Carl Tacy

Carl Tacy (1933-2020)

Teams coached: Marshall Thundering Herd, Wake Forest Demon Deacons
Marshall record: 23-4 (.852)
Wake Forest record: 222-149 (.598)
Overall record^: 312-167 (.651)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  5  (1972, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1984)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  2  (1977, 1984)
  • NCAA Tournament Final Four:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  2  (1983, 1985)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1972-1985 Wake Forest
1971-1972 Marshall
1970-1971 Marshall (asst)
1967-1970 Ferrum College

Carl Tacy Facts

  • Carl Tacy
  • Born June 18, 1933
  • Died April 2, 2020
  • Hometown: Huttonsville, West Virginia
  • Alma Mater: Davis & Elkins College (BA, 1956) / Radford University (MA, 1967)
  • Played at Davis & Elkins (WV) and then started his coaching career at the high school level in Virginia
  • First collegiate job was a three years stint at Ferrum (VA), then a junior college, where he went 67-14 (.824)
  • Became an assistant at Marshall under Stewart Way in 1970 and then took over as head coach a year later
    • Went 23-4 in his lone season at the helm, reaching the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in program history
  • Hired away in 1972 to be the head coach at Wake Forest, a position he held for the next 13 years
    • Compiled a 222-149 record overall, going to four more NCAA Tournaments and two NITs
    • Finished .500 or above in 10 of 13 seasons and regularly had the Deacons in the top half of the ACC standings
      • The 1977 team finished the season as the #9 team in the country and were ranked as high as #4
    • Retired in 1985 following a string of five-straight seasons with a postseason berth
  • Member of the Wake Forest Sports HOF (1985), Davis & Elkins Sports HOF, Ferrum College HOF (2007)
  • Passed away in 2020 at age 86; survived by wife, Donnie, and their three children: Carl Jr., Beth and Carla

Carl Tacy Coaching Tree

  • Muggsy Bogues (Charlotte Sting)
  • Mike D’Antoni (Houston Rockets, LA Lakers, NY Knicks, Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets)
  • Frank Johnson (Phoenix Suns)
  • Fran McCaffery (Iowa, Siena, UNC Greensboro, Lehigh)
  • Ernie Nestor (Elon, George Mason)
  • Dave Odom (South Carolina, Wake Forest, East Carolina)
  • Eddie Payne (USC Upstate, Oregon State, East Carolina)
  • Bobby Watson (Evansville)

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I level only