Vic Bubas
Vic Bubas (1927-2018)
Teams coached: Duke Blue Devils
Duke record: 213-67 (.761)
Overall record: 213-67 (.761)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0 (Runner-up in 1964)
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (1960, 1963, 1964, 1966)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 4 (1960, 1963, 1964, 1966)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 3 (1963, 1964, 1966)
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 1 (1968)
- ACC Regular Season Champion: 4 (1963, 1964, 1965, 1966)
- ACC Tournament Champion: 4 (1960, 1963, 1964, 1966)
Awards:
- ACC Coach of the Year: 3 (1963, 1964, 1966)
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted 2007)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
1959-1969 | Duke |
1951-1959 | NC State (asst) |
Vic Bubas Facts
- Victor Albert Bubas
- Born January 28, 1927
- Died April 16, 2018
- Hometown: Gary, Indiana
- Alma Mater: North Carolina State University (BA, 1951)
- Played at Gary Lew Wallace HS (IN) before going on to play one year under head coach Douglas Mills at Illinois
- Transferred to NC State, playing three seasons for legendary head coach Everett Case; twice earned All-SoCon honors
- Stayed at NC State after graduation as Case’s assistant for eight seasons; was also the freshman coach from 1951-55
- Hired in 1959 to be the head coach at Duke, then a low-profile program that had only been to one NCAA Tournament
- Won 213 games in nine years, leading the Blue Devils to four NCAA Tournaments: three Final Fours and a national runner-up finish in 1964
- Won four straight ACC regular season titles from 1963-66, the first ACC titles in program history
- Part of his building of the Duke program came from his success on the recruiting trail; revered for scouting and identifying players early, ultimately shaping the way prospects are recruited to this day
- Retired from coaching in 1969 but stayed at Duke until 1976 as an administrator; was a VP at the school for the last three years he was there
- Became the commissioner of the newly formed Sun Belt Conference in 1976, holding that title for fourteen years until retiring
- Inducted into the North Carolina Sports HOF in 1975, Indiana Sports HOF in 2002 and College Basketball HOF in 2007
- Passed away in April 2018 at age 91
Vic Bubas Coaching Tree
- Tony Barone (Memphis Grizzlies, Texas A&M, Creighton)
- Tom Carmody (Rhode Island)
- Chuck Daly (Penn, Boston College, 4x NBA teams, the “Dream Team”)
- Jeff Mullins (Charlotte)
- Fred Shabel (Connecticut)
- Bucky Waters (Duke, West Virginia)