Lenny Fant (1923-1998)
Teams coached: Louisiana College Wildcats, East Texas Baptist Tigers, Northeast Louisiana Indians
Louisiana College record: 6-15 (.286)
East Texas Baptist record: 56-22 (.718)
Northeast Louisiana record: 326-211 (.596)
Overall record: 388-258 (.601)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 1 (1979)
- TAAC Regular Season Champion: 1 (1979)
- Gulf States (NAIA) Regular Season Champion: 2 (1962, 1965)
- TAAC Tournament Champion: 1 (1979)
- NAIA Tournament Appearances: 1 (1970)
Awards:
- TAAC Coach of the Year: 1 (1979)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1957-1978 | Northeast Louisiana |
1954-1957 | East Texas Baptist |
1953-1954 | Louisiana College |
Lenny Fant Facts
- Leonard O’Neil Fant
- Born October 25, 1923
- Died October 12, 1998
- Hometown: Hamilton, Alabama
- Alma Mater: Centenary College (BA, 1949) / University of Alabama (MA)
- Originally from Alabama, Fant graduated from Lee HS (MS), then played at Centenary for head coaches Jack Clayton and A.B. Young
- Spent three seasons (1950-53) as the head basketball coach at Delhi HS (LA)
- Moved to the college level in 1953 as head coach and athletic director at Louisiana College in Pineville, LA
- Was the head coach at East Texas Baptist for three seasons, going 56-22 overall with the program
- Hired at then-NAIA Northeast Louisiana, now the D-I program known as Louisiana-Monroe, in 1957
- Went 326-211 overall, going over .500 in 18 (1961-79) of 21 seasons at the helm
- Reached the NAIA Tournament in 1970 and the D-I NIT in 1979; won two Gulf States regular season titles
- During Fant’s final season (1978-79), his team went 23-6, won the TAAC (now ASUN) title and Tournament
- Inducted into the Louisiana Sports HOF (1988), Centenary College HOF (1997), Louisiana Basketball HOF and the Louisiana-Monroe HOF
- Continued his affiliation with ULM after his retirement; passed away in 1998 following an eighteen-month battle with colon cancer
Lenny Fant Coaching Tree
- Benny Hollis (Louisiana-Monroe)
- Kenny Natt (Sacramento Kings)
- Keith Richard (Louisiana-Monroe, Louisiana Tech)
- Mike Vining (Louisiana-Monroe)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I and NAIA levels; ULM (then Northeast Louisiana) was not a Division I program until 1973