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:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- MEAC Regular Season Champion: 2 (1974, 1976)
- MEAC Tournament Championships: 1 (1976)
- NCAA Division II National Championships: 1 (1974)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 3 (1974, 1975, 1976)
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