Nat Frazier

Nat Frazier (1935-2019)

Teams coached: Morgan State Bears, Bowie State Bulldogs
Morgan State record^: 166-120 (.580)
Bowie State record: 8-44 (.154)
Overall record^: 174-164 (.515)

Career Accomplishments:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1985-1989 Morgan State
1980-1982 Bowie State
1977-1978 New York Knicks (asst)
1971-1977 Morgan State
1967-1971 Illinois (asst)
196?-1967 Delaware State (asst)

Nat Frazier Facts

  • Nathaniel Frazier
  • Born April 18, 1935
  • Died September 22, 2019
  • Hometown: Savannah, Georgia
  • Alma Mater: Tuskegee University (BA, 1958)
  • Born in South Carolina and raised in Georgia, Frazier was a three-sport star at A.E. Beach HS in Savannah
  • Played at Tuskegee (AL) for head coach R.C. Owen; twice earned All-SIAC honors with the Golden Tigers
  • Early college coaching roles include time on Bennie George’s staff at Delaware State and as an assistant under Harv Schmidt at Illinois for four seasons; was one of the first African-American assistants in the Big Ten, helping to integrate coaching staffs in the league
  • Hired in 1971 to be the head coach at then-Division II Morgan State; would lead the Bears for the next six years
    • Won two MEAC titles and went to three D-II NCAA Tournaments, highlighted by the 1973-74 team that won the national championship
    • Among the players he coached was Marvin Webster, the three-time MEAC POY who later played nine seasons in the NBA
  • Left Morgan in 1977 and spent one season with the New York Knicks as an assistant under head coach Willis Reed
  • Spent one year coaching the Washington Metros (1979-80), a professional women’s team in the WBL, a precursor to the WNBA
  • Served as the head coach at D-II Bowie State back in Maryland, but went just 8-44 overall
  • Later returned for a second stint at Morgan State in 1985 after the program had moved up to the Division I level
    • Went 43-70 in over the next four years, bringing his total record with the Bears to 166-120
  • Frazier is a member of the A.E. Beach HS HOF (class of 1996), Tuskegee HOF (2001) and Morgan State HOF (2004)
  • Passed away in 2019 at the age of 84; survived by his wife of 57 years, Alice, their two sons and three grandchildren

Nat Frazier Coaching Tree

  • coming soon

 

^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels only; the Morgan State program competed in Division II during Frazier’s first tenure as head coach, but had moved up to Division I by his second