Bob Valvano

Last updated

Bob Valvano
Biographical details
Born (1957-01-29) January 29, 1957 (age 67)
Queens, New York, U.S.
Playing career
Basketball
1975–1977 Virginia Wesleyan
Soccer
1976–1978 Virginia Wesleyan
Golf
1976–1979 Virginia Wesleyan
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
Basketball
19791982 Hofstra (asst)
1982–1984 Kutztown
1984–1988 St. Francis (NY)
1989–1992 Catholic University
1992–1994 St. Mary's (MD)
1994–1998 Bellarmine
Head coaching record
Overall178–226
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
CAC regular season (1992)
Awards
CAC Coach of the Year (1992)

Bob Valvano (born January 29, 1957) is a former college basketball coach and an American sportscaster based in Louisville, Kentucky. [1]

Contents

Television and coaching

During the college-basketball season, he is the lead game analyst for ESPNRadio, and occasionally for ESPNU. When not doing those games, Valvano is the color analyst for University of Louisville men's basketball games on radio (WHAS 840 and WKRD 790.)

Valvano began his coaching career at Hofstra University where he was an assistant to head coach Dick Berg for three years. [2] Then he took over the head coaching position at Division II Kutztown. [2] Valvano coached there for two years, setting the single-season record for wins his second year, before taking the head coaching position at St. Francis College in 1984. [2] At the time of Valvano's hiring he was the youngest head coach in Division I men's basketball at 27 years old. While with the Terriers, Valvano did not have a winning season but did win the college's first postseason game in over 30 years in 1988.

In 1988, he left for Sweden to coach the Alvik Professional Basketball Club. [3] After one year in Sweden, he returned to take the head coaching position at Division III Catholic University, where his third team there had the first 20-win season in school history, (20–6), and set 6 NCAA records for 3-point shooting.

Valvano then went to St. Mary's (MD), where his team had that school's first winning season ever at the NCAA level in 1994.

In 1994, Valvano took the head coaching job at Bellarmine University, where his teams improved for four straight years, culminating in back-to-back winning seasons (16–11, 17–10) his last two seasons.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview
SeasonTeamOverallConferenceStandingPostseason
St. Francis (NY) Terriers (ECAC Metro Conference)(1984–1988)
1984–85 St. Francis (NY) 7–123–118th
1985–86 St. Francis (NY) 9–194–128th
1986–87 St. Francis (NY) 11–165–11T-7th
1987–88 St. Francis (NY) 11–185–117th
St. Francis (NY):38–7417–45
Total:178–226

      National champion        Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion        Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion      Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

Radio

Valvano hosts a daily radio show (The V Show) on ESPN680 in Louisville from noon until 3 weekdays.

He had hosted a late night show on ESPN Radio (under the same V Show moniker) for over twelve years. During that time, SI's Richard Deitsch named Valvano his National Sportsradio Voice of the Year in 2012.

Valvano was also named Kentucky Sportscaster of the Year in 2016.

A regular segment on The V Show was the "Zero-Thousand-Dollar Pyramid," which was inspired by the Pyramid series of game shows. His show also regularly featured the "Sports Radio Match Game", based upon the 1970s edition of Match Game, complete with audio from that show.

Personal life

Valvano graduated cum laude from Virginia Wesleyan College in 1979, where he majored in communications and lettered in soccer, basketball and golf. (He was voted All-Conference First team as a goalkeeper and still holds the career record for saves at VWC.) He was inducted into the college's Sports Hall of Fame in its inaugural class in 2009. He and his wife Darlene have two sons, Nicholas and Jamison. [4]

Valvano is the younger brother of the late North Carolina State college basketball coach and TV commentator Jim Valvano. He is active in the V Foundation, Jim Valvano's legacy in the fight against cancer, and authored a book about his brother titled "The Gifts of Jimmy V". [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dick Vitale</span> American basketball coach and announcer

Richard "Dick" John Vitale, also known as "Dickie V", is an American basketball sportscaster. A former head coach in the college and professional ranks, he is well known for his 41-year tenure as a college basketball broadcaster for ESPN. He is known for catchphrases such as "This is awesome, baby!" and "diaper dandy", as well as his enthusiastic and colorful remarks during games. He has also written fourteen books and appeared in several films.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louisville Cardinals</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of the University of Louisville

The Louisville Cardinals are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East Conference from 2005 through 2013, the Cardinals captured 17 regular season Big East titles and 33 Big East Tournament titles totaling 50 Big East Championships across all sports. On November 28, 2012, Louisville received and accepted an invitation to join the Atlantic Coast Conference and became a participating member in all sports in 2014. In 2016, Lamar Jackson won the school its first Heisman Trophy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jim Valvano</span> American basketball player, coach, and broadcaster (1946–1993)

James Thomas Anthony Valvano, nicknamed Jimmy V, was an American college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Raftery</span> American basketball player-coach and current broadcaster for college basketball

William Joseph Raftery is an American basketball analyst and former college basketball coach.

Terrance Patrick Gannon is a sportscaster for NBC Sports and the Golf Channel, currently announcing golf, gymnastics, and figure skating.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doug Gottlieb</span> American basketball analyst and sports talk radio host

Douglas Mitchell Gottlieb is an American basketball analyst, sports talk radio host and college basketball coach who is the head men's basketball coach at the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. Gottlieb played both NCAA collegiate basketball, twice leading the nation in assists, and professional basketball. In addition to his coaching duties at Green Bay, he works for Fox Sports after tenures with the Pac-12 Network, CBS Sports, and ESPN.

Hugh Nelson Durham is a retired American basketball coach. He was head coach at Florida State, Georgia, and Jacksonville. He is the only head coach to have led two different programs to their first Final Four appearances.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1976 NCAA Division I basketball tournament</span> Edition of USA college basketball tournament

The 1976 NCAA Division I basketball tournament involved 32 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 13, 1976, and ended with the championship game on March 29 in Philadelphia. A total of 32 games were played, including a national third-place game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament</span> Edition of USA college basketball tournament

The 1983 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 52 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 17, 1983, and ended with the championship game on April 4 at The Pit, then officially known as University Arena, on the campus of the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. A total of 51 games were played.

The NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. NC State is one of the seven founding members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Prior to joining the ACC in 1954, the Wolfpack were members of the Southern Conference, where they won seven conference championships. As a member of the ACC, the Wolfpack has won eleven conference championships, as well as two national championships in 1974 and 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andy Kennedy</span> American college basketball coach

Andy Kennedy is an American college basketball coach who is the head coach of the UAB Blazers men's basketball team. He was head men's basketball coach at the University of Mississippi from 2006 to 2018. Kennedy was a player in high school at both Winston Academy and Louisville High School. He was a 1986 Parade All-American and he went on to play for North Carolina State and the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). On March 20, 2020, he was announced as the seventh head coach of UAB.

The Louisville Cardinals men's basketball team is the men's college basketball program representing the University of Louisville in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) of NCAA Division I. The Cardinals have officially won two NCAA championships in 1980 and 1986 ; and have officially been to eight Final Fours in 39 official NCAA tournament appearances while compiling 61 tournament wins.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball</span> NCAA Division I Mens Basketball team representing the University of Kentucky

The Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball program is the men's college basketball team of the University of Kentucky. It has eight NCAA championships, the best all-time winning percentage, and the most all-time victories. The Wildcats compete in the Southeastern Conference and are coached by Mark Pope.

Jimmy Dykes is a former American college basketball coach and current sportscaster for ESPN and SEC Network. He was the women's basketball head coach at the University of Arkansas until resigning in March 2017.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football</span> College football team that represents Western Kentucky University

The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers football program is a college football team that represents Western Kentucky University. The team competes at the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision level and represents the university as a member of Conference USA in the Eastern division. The 2002 team was the FCS national champion. The program has 13 conference championships and 7 FBS-level bowl game victories. The Hilltoppers play their home games at Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, Kentucky and the team's head football coach is Tyson Helton.

Daniel John Dakich is an American basketball sportscaster. He is a former player, assistant coach, interim head coach for the Indiana University Hoosiers former head coach at Bowling Green State University and a member of the Indiana Basketball Hall Of Fame. He currently is the host of Don't @ Me for OutKick.

ESPN College Basketball is a blanket title used for presentations of college basketball on ESPN and its family of networks. Its coverage focuses primarily on competition in NCAA Division I, holding broadcast rights to games from each major conference, and a number of mid-major conferences.

ABC first broadcast selected college basketball games of the now-NCAA Division I during the 1960s and 1970s, before it began televising them on a regular basis on January 18, 1987, with a game between the LSU Tigers and Kentucky Wildcats). As CBS and NBC were also broadcasting college games at the time, this put the sport on all three major broadcast television networks.

The Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame is a sports hall of fame for the U.S. state of Kentucky established in 1963. Individuals are inducted annually at a banquet in Louisville and receive a bronze plaque inside Louisville's Freedom Hall. The Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame other wise known as the Kentucky Sports Hall of fame, is a non-profit organization funded by the Kentucky Lottery and owned and operated by the Louisville Sports Commission.

References

  1. Bob Valvano bio Archived November 27, 2010, at the Wayback Machine at MyNW.com
  2. 1 2 3 "ANOTHER VALVANO TAKES HISTURN". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  3. Brady, Jim (February 21, 1990). "VALVANO SETTLES INTO HIS OWN AT CATHOLIC". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 19, 2019.
  4. Bob Valvano bio at JimmyV.org Archived June 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  5. Valvano, Bob (2001). The Gifts of Jimmy V: A Coach's Legacy . Chicago, IL: Triumph Books. ISBN   978-1-892049-30-8.