Bill Hodges

William Oscar Hodges (born March 9, 1943) is an American basketball coach. He was the head basketball coach at Indiana State University from 1978 to 1982, at Georgia College and State University from 1986 to 1991 and at Mercer University from 1991 to 1997.

Bill Hodges
Biographical details
Born (1943-03-09) March 9, 1943
Zionsville, Indiana, U.S.
Alma materPurdue University
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1965–1966Marian (assistant)
1970–1974Tennessee Tech (assistant)
1974–1975Armstrong State (assistant)
1975–1978Indiana State (assistant)
1978–1982Indiana State
1983–1984Long Beach State (assistant)
1986–1991Georgia College
1991–1997Mercer
1998–1999Murray State (assistant)
Head coaching record
Overall239–208
Tournaments4–1 (NCAA Division I)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Division I Regional – Final Four (1979)
MVC regular season (1979)
MVC tournament (1979)
Awards
MVC Coach of the Year (1979)
AP Coach of the Year (1979)
UPI Coach of the Year (1979)
Sporting News Coach of the Year (1979)
Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame (2019)

Career

As an assistant basketball coach at Indiana State University, he recruited Larry Bird after Bird had dropped out of Indiana University. Before the start of the 1978–79 season, Hodges was hired as Head Coach at Indiana State University after head coach Bob King suffered a brain aneurysm. Hodges proceeded to lead Indiana State with Larry Bird to an undefeated regular season and a second-place finish in the 1979 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, losing to Michigan State University and Magic Johnson in the NCAA Final. During that year, after a 33-1 record, Hodges won several coach of the year awards, including the UPI's and AP's. The Sycamores were selected as the United Press International Collegiate Champions. His later Indiana State teams would never reach the same heights, leading to his resignation from Indiana State after the 1982 season.[1][2][3][4]

Hodges is currently #7 in coaching wins at Indiana State with a record of 67–48 (.583) and #5 in wins at Mercer with a record of 62–107 (.367). His record at Georgia College was 110–53 (.675). His overall collegiate head coaching record is 239–208 (.535). Hodges is a graduate of Purdue University.[5]

Moving to live near his daughter, Hodges returned to high school teaching and coaching to keep busy and coach his granddaughter. He coached the boys basketball teams Roanoke Catholic High School and North Cross School in Roanoke, Virginia from 2011 to 2013, where he led North Cross to the VISAA state tournament where they upset Carlisle School in the semifinals and went on to play for the state title, but came up just short. He then coached the girls team at The Villages Charter High School in The Villages, Florida as of the 2016–17 season.[6][7][8]

Personal

Hodges also coached golf at Armstrong Atlantic State University before moving to Indiana State. He is a Vietnam-era veteran of the United States Air Force.[9]

Inducted in 1999, Hodges is a member of the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the 1978–79 men's basketball team.[10]

In 2019, Hodges was inducted into the Indiana State University Athletic Hall of Fame individually.[11]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Indiana State Sycamores (Missouri Valley Conference) (1979–1982)
1978–79 Indiana State 33–116–01stNCAA Division I Runner-up
1979–80 Indiana State 16–118–8T–5th
1980–81 Indiana State 9–184–128th
1981–82 Indiana State 9–182–14T–9th
Indiana State: 67–4830–34
Georgia College Bobcats (Peach Belt Conference) (1986–1991)
1986–87 Georgia College 17–14
1987–88 Georgia College 25–9NAIA First Round
1988–89 Georgia College 25–10NAIA First Round
1989–90 Georgia College 24–8NAIA First Round
1990–91 Georgia College 19–126–6T–3rd
Georgia College: 110–53
Mercer Bears (Trans America Athletic Conference) (1991–1997)
1991–92 Mercer 11–186–8T–5th
1992–93 Mercer 13–147–5T–2nd
1993–94 Mercer 5–243–149th
1994–95 Mercer 15–148–84th
1995–96 Mercer 15–147–94th (West)
1996–97 Mercer 3–231–156th (West)
Mercer: 62–10732–59
Total:239–208

      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

See also

References
  1. LaGree, Bret. "Book Review: When March Went Mad".
  2. "Former Indiana State coach Bill Hodges fondly remembers Sycamores' run to 1979 NCAA title game". syracuse. March 17, 2011.
  3. Paikert, Mark Mehler and Charles. "Excerpt: Remembering Magic vs. Bird in 1979 final". Sports Illustrated.
  4. General, Robby. "40 years later, Indiana State celebrates 1979 national runner-up team". The Indianapolis Star.
  5. "Bill Hodges Coaching Record". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  6. Jolley, Frank. "Coach Bill Hodges loving new challenge at The Villages". Daily Commercial.
  7. Doughty  981-3129, Doug. "Veteran coach Bill Hodges moves from Roanoke Catholic to North Cross". Roanoke Times.
  8. "MBB: Bill Hodges #MarchWentMad". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-05.
  9. "Bill Hodges' career took long and winding road after taking Indiana State to '79 Final Four". syracuse.com. March 17, 2011. Retrieved April 20, 2017.
  10. "1978–79 Men's Basketball Team – Indiana State Athletics Hall of Fame". Indiana State Sycamores. August 21, 1999. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 28, 2015.
  11. "Bill Hodges (2019) - Hall of Fame". Indiana State University Athletics.
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