| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1941-08-12)August 12, 1941 Erlanger, Kentucky, U.S. |
| Died | September 8, 2011(2011-09-08) (aged 70) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Tennessee Tech |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1978–1996 | Wright State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 356–162 (.687) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 1983 NCAA Division II National Champions | |
Ralph W. Underhill (August 8, 1941 – September 8, 2011) was an American college basketball coach, known for leading the Wright State Raiders men's basketball team for 18 seasons.
Education
Underhill graduated from Lloyd High School in Erlanger, Kentucky, where he lettered four times each in basketball, football, track, and baseball. He then played collegiate basketball and ran track for Tennessee Tech. As a junior, he was a member of the team that won the Ohio Valley Conference championship.
He received a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education from Tennessee Tech in 1964 and earned a Master of Arts degree in guidance and education in 1965 from Western Kentucky University, where he worked as a graduate assistant basketball coach.
Coaching career
Early years
Underhill was the head coach at Ohio County High School in Hartford, Kentucky and at Louisville Manual High School. His first collegiate coaching job was as an assistant coach under Ron Shumate at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga.
Wright State
Underhill was the most successful coach in Wright State history, with a career total of 356 wins, including leading the team to an NCAA Division II National Championship in the 1982–83 season.
Hired as head coach for the 1978–79 season, Underhill led the Raiders for 18 seasons. Including the national championship, his squads earned a total of seven Division II regional appearances before taking Wright State up to the Division I level in 1987–88.
He was recognized with three Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year awards and one Division II Coach of the Year award. Known for being a strong recruiter, Underhill had several All-Americans at Wright State: Roman Welch (1980), Rodney Benson (1981) Gary Monroe (1983), Fred Moore (1984), Mark Vest (1985 and 1986), Grant Marion (1986) and Andy Warner (1986), and one player selected in the NBA draft (Vitaly Potapenko, 1996).
His 1993 team, led by star Bill Edwards, won the Mid-Continent Conference Tournament title against the University of Illinois at Chicago and advanced to the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament as a 16-seed matched against Bobby Knight and the 1-seed Indiana Hoosiers. That year's IU team included Calbert Cheaney and Knight's son Pat Knight.
Yearly records
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wright State Raiders (Division II Independent) (1978–1987) | |||||||||
| 1978–79 | Wright State | 20–8 | NCAA D-II regional final | ||||||
| 1979–80 | Wright State | 25–3 | NCAA D-II Regional semifinal | ||||||
| 1980–81 | Wright State | 25–4 | NCAA D-II Regional semifinal | ||||||
| 1981–82 | Wright State | 22–7 | NCAA D-II Regional semifinal | ||||||
| 1982–83 | Wright State | 28–4 | NCAA D-II National Champions | ||||||
| 1983–84 | Wright State | 19–9 | |||||||
| 1984–85 | Wright State | 22–7 | NCAA D-II regional final | ||||||
| 1985–86 | Wright State | 28–3 | NCAA D-II regional final | ||||||
| 1986–87 | Wright State | 20–8 | |||||||
| Wright State Raiders (Division I Independent) (1987–1991) | |||||||||
| 1987–88 | Wright State | 16–11 | |||||||
| 1988–89 | Wright State | 17–11 | |||||||
| 1989–90 | Wright State | 21–7 | |||||||
| 1990–91 | Wright State | 19–9 | |||||||
| Wright State Raiders (Mid-Continent Conference) (1991–1994) | |||||||||
| 1991–92 | Wright State | 15–13 | 9–7 | T–4th | |||||
| 1992–93 | Wright State | 20–10 | 10–6 | T–2nd | NCAA round of 64 | ||||
| 1993–94 | Wright State | 12–18 | 9–9 | T–4th | |||||
| Wright State Raiders (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) (1994–1996) | |||||||||
| 1994–95 | Wright State | 13–17 | 6–8 | 8th | |||||
| 1995–96 | Wright State | 14–13 | 8–8 | 4th | |||||
| Total: | 356–162 (.687) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Halls of Fame
- Mary and Al Schwarz Wright State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003
- Cincinnati Area Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997
References
- "Raiders basketball: Rise to prominence". Xenia Gazette. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
- ^ "WSU Coaching Great Passes Away". Wright State Athletics. 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
- "Wright State Men's Basketball Media Guide" (PDF). Wright State Athletics. 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
| Wright State Raiders men's basketball head coaches | |
|---|---|
# denotes interim head coach |
| NABC Division II Coach of the Year winners | |
|---|---|
|
- 1941 births
- 2011 deaths
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball coaches from Kentucky
- Basketball players from Kentucky
- Chattanooga Mocs baseball coaches
- Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball coaches
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- High school basketball coaches in the United States
- People from Kenton County, Kentucky
- Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball players
- Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's track and field athletes
- Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball coaches
- Western Kentucky University alumni
- Wright State Raiders men's basketball coaches
- 20th-century American sportsmen