Fred Snowden

Fred Snowden (c. 1936-1994)

Teams coached: Arizona Wildcats
Arizona record: 167-108 (.607)
Overall record: 167-108 (.607)

Career Accomplishments:

• NCAA National Championships:  0
• NCAA Tournament Appearances:  2  (1976, 1977)
• NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  1  (1976)
• NCAA Tournament Final Four:  0
• NIT Championships:  0
• NIT Appearances:  0
• NCIT Appearances:  1  (1975)
• WAC Regular Season Champion:  1  (1976)

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1972-1982	Arizona
1967-1972	Michigan (asst)

Fred Snowden Facts

• Frederick Snowden
• Born c. 1936
• Died January 17, 1994
• Hometown: Detroit, Michigan
• Alma Mater: Wayne State University (BA, 1958)
• Born in Brewton, AL to a sharecropper father and moved with his mother to Detroit at age 6
  • Graduated from Northwestern HS and attended Wayne State, both in Detroit
• Started coaching at his alma mater, Northwestern HS (MI), first as the JV coach then varsity
• Became an assistant coach at Michigan under Dave Strack in 1967 and remained on staff for a total of five seasons, the last four under head coach Johnny Orr
• In 1972, Snowden was hired by Strack – who had just been hired as athletic director – to be the head coach at Arizona; became the first African-American head coach of a major university (second ever in Division I)
  • Went 167-108 during his ten years as head coach, going to the NCAA Tournament twice and the second iteration of the NCIT (finished as Runner-up to Drake)
  • Won the WAC title in 1976 then coached the program in their transition to the Pac-10 in 1978
  • Resigned after the 1981-82 season amidst a “slush fund” scandal, though it was later found that Snowden himself had not acted improperly
  • Served as special assistant to the athletic director (Strack) in from 1982-83
  • Inducted into the Arizona Athletics Sports Hall of Fame in 1988
    • Also inducted into the Pima County (AZ) Sports Hall of Fame in 2009
• Worked in the private and non-profit sectors after leaving coaching, including a stint as a VP with Baskin-Robbins
• Suffered a heart attack in Washington DC in January 1994 and passed away
• Along with his wife, Maya, had one son and one daughter

Fred Snowden Coaching Tree

• coming soon