Don Eddy
Don Eddy (1935-2017)
Teams coached: Eastern Illinois Panthers, UTSA Roadrunners
Eastern Illinois record^: 208-129 (.617)
UTSA record: 60-68 (.469)
Overall record^: 268-197 (.576)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- IIAC (NAIA) Regular Season Championships: 1 (1969)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 6 (1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Final Four: 2 (1976, 1978)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1981-1986 | UTSA |
| 1968-1980 | Eastern Illinois |
| 1966-1968 | East Tennessee State (asst) |
Don Eddy Facts
- Don R. Eddy
- Born December 16, 1935
- Died November 5, 2017
- Hometown: Kenova, West Virginia
- Alma Mater: University of Southern Mississippi (BA, 1957)
- Played basketball at Southern Miss for head coaches Charles Finley and Fred Lewis
- Started his coaching career at Southwest HS in Atlanta before moving up to the college game
- Spent two seasons as an assistant under head coach Madison Brooks at East Tennessee State
- First college head coaching job was at Eastern Illinois; took over the then-NAIA program in 1968
- Coached the Panthers for 12 seasons, guiding the transition from NAIA to NCAA Division II competition
- Won the NAIA IIAC in 1969 and later reached six-straight NCAA D-II Tournaments (1975-80)
- Led the Panthers to the Final Four in both 1976 and 1978; won the third-place consolation game both years
- Left EIU in 1980 to be the first head coach of the new (Division I) UTSA Roadrunners program
- The team started playing in 1981 and Eddy served as head coach for their first five seasons
- Went 60-68 overall and laid the foundation for the program’s first NCAA Tournament berth in 1988
- Resigned midway through the 1985-86 season following an altercation with a player
- After his coaching career ended, he continued to work in basketball running camps in the San Antonio area
- Passed away in November 2017 at the age of 81
Don Eddy Coaching Tree
- Larry Gatewood (UTSA)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I, Division II and NAIA levels; Eastern Illinois competed at the NAIA and NCAA Division II levels during Eddy’s tenure there (moved up to Division I in 1981)