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Ralph Underhill

Ralph Underhill (1941-2011)

Teams coached: Wright State Raiders
Wright State record^: 356-162 (.687)
Overall record^: 356-162 (.687)

Career Accomplishments:

  • NCAA National Championships:  0
  • NCAA Tournament Appearances:  1  (1993)
  • NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen:  0
  • NIT Championships:  0
  • NIT Appearances:  0
  • Summit League Tournament Champion:  1  (1993)
  • NCAA Division II National Championships:  1  (1983)   
  • NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances:  7  (1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1986)
  • NCAA Division II Tournament Final Four:  1  (1983)

Awards:

Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):

1978-1996 Wright State
1972-1978 Chattanooga (asst)
1964-1965 Western Kentucky (grad. asst)

Ralph Underhill Facts

  • Ralph W. Underhill
  • Born August 8, 1941
  • Died September 8, 2011
  • Hometown: Erlanger, Kentucky
  • Alma Mater: Tennessee Polytechnic Institute (BS, 1964) / Western Kentucky University (MA, 1965)
  • Lettered four teams each in basketball, football, track, and baseball at Lloyd HS (KY)
  • Ran track and played basketball – the latter for head coach John Oldham – at Tennessee Tech
  • Followed Oldham to Western Kentucky in 1964, where he spent the season as a graduate assistant while getting his master’s
  • Started his coaching career at the high school level, spending time at both Ohio County HS (KY) and Louisville Manual HS (KY)
    • Won four district titles at Ohio County HS and finished as KY state championship runner-up in 1969
  • Joined Ron Shumate’s staff at Chattanooga in 1972; the program moved up from Division II to Division I in 1976
  • Hired in 1978 to be the head coach at Wright State and spent the next 18 seasons with the Raiders
    • Was 356-162 during his tenure, which included time at both the Division II and Division I levels
      • WSU moved up to Division I in 1987 and then joined the MCC (now Summit League) in 1991
    • Went to the NCAA Division II Tournament six times, winning the D-II National Championship in 1983
    • Won the 1993 MCC Tournament, earning the Raiders their first Division I Tournament berth
  • Inducted into the Cincinnati Area Basketball Hall of Fame (c/o 1997) and the Wright State Athletic Hall of Fame (c/o 2003)
  • Passed away in 2011 at the age of 70 following a battle with diabetes

Ralph Underhill Coaching Tree

  • Jim Brown (Wright State)

 

^ overall record includes seasons at both the Division I and Division II levels; Wright State moved up to Division I play prior to the 1987-88 season