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Joel Eaves

Joel Eaves (1914-1991)

Teams coached: Sewanee Tigers, Auburn Tigers
Sewanee record: 4-43 (.085)
Auburn record: 208-98 (.680)
Overall record: 212-141 (.601)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • SEC Regular Season Champion:  1  (1960)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1949-1963 Auburn
1938-1941 Sewanee
1937-1938 Sewanee (asst)

Joel Eaves Facts

  • Joel Harry Eaves
  • Born June 3, 1914
  • Died July 18, 1991
  • Hometown: Atlanta, Georgia
  • Alma Mater: Auburn University (BA, 1937)
  • Born in Copperhill, Tennessee and raised in Atlanta, Eaves graduated from Tech High School (GA)
  • Played baseball, football and basketball – the latter for head coach Ralph Jordan – at Auburn
    • Was All-SEC as an offensive end in football and served as basketball team captain as a senior
  • Started his coaching career as an assistant under Allen Lincoln at Sewanee, then a member of the SEC
    • Became the Tigers’ head coach in 1938, but went just 4-43 in three seasons at the helm
    • During his tenure, the program left the SEC and became independent; later de-emphasized athletics and is now in Division III
  • Returned to his alma mater, Auburn, in 1949 and spent the next fourteen years as head basketball coach
    • Compiled a 208-98 record during that tenure, highlighted by a SEC regular season title in 1960 (the program’s first)
    • Also spent time working with the football program; coached defensive ends in 1957, when the Tigers were National Champions
    • Stepped away from coaching in 1963, with a career head coaching record of 212-141
  • Moved on to the University of Georgia that same year, spending the next sixteen years at athletic director there
  • In 1987, Auburn renamed Joel H. Memorial Coliseum in his honor (now Beard-Eaves-Memorial Coliseum)
    • The basketball program continued to play there until moving into the new Auburn Arena in 2010
    • Inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (class of 1978)

Joel Eaves Coaching Tree

  • Rex Frederick (South Alabama)
  • Bill Lynn (Auburn)