Calvin Charles Luther (October 23, 1927[1] – May 8, 2021) was an American men's college basketball coach. He was the head coach at DePauw, Murray State, Longwood, UT Martin, and Bethel College. He was also head coach of the Egyptian national team.[2]
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | October 23, 1927 Valdosta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | May 8, 2021 (aged 93) Dresden, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1949–1951 | Valparaiso |
| Position(s) | Guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1951–1954 | Illinois (freshmen) |
| 1954–1958 | DePauw |
| 1958–1974 | Murray State |
| 1981–1990 | Longwood |
| 1990–1999 | UT Martin |
| 1999–2000 | Bethel (TN) |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1967–1977 | Murray State |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 500–489–1 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| ICC (1957) 2 OVC (1964, 1969) | |
| Awards | |
| 3× OVC Coach of the Year (1964, 1969, 1996) Mason-Dixon Conference Coach of the Year (1988) | |
Early life
Born in Valdosta, Georgia,[3] Luther was an All-state football and basketball player at Bay View High School in Milwaukee.[4][5] He played college basketball at Valparaiso from 1949 to 1951. He spent two years as a member of the 82nd Airborne Division and was a member of Fort Benning's basketball and championship-winning football teams.[6]
Luther's coaching career began at the University of Illinois, where he spent three seasons as the freshman basketball while obtaining his master's degree.[7]
DePauw
Luther became DePauw University's head coach in 1954. In his first season as head coach, he coached DePauw to a rare tie against Wabash. DePauw defeated Wabash 67-66, however the coaches of both teams decided the game should be recorded as a tie due to a scorers error.[8] In four seasons with the Tigers, Luther had a 45-40-1 record; including the 1956-57 ICC Championship and a berth in the inaugural NCAA College Division Tourney.[9]He coached two of DePauw's 1,000 point scorers (#6 Bob Schrier - 1,415 and #22 John Bunnell 1,004)
Murray State
In 1958, Luther became Murray State's seventh head basketball coach. In his sixteen seasons at MSU, Luther's Racers had a 241–134 record and made the NCAA tournament twice.[10] He was also Murray State's Athletic Director.[11] He was named OVC Coach of the Year in 1964 and 1969. In 1971, the Minnesota Golden Gophers hired Luther to coach the men's basketball team, but he changed his mind and turned the team down after accepting the position.[12] He stepped down as head coach in 1974 to become the school's full-time athletic director.[13] He resigned as AD in 1977 at the behest of the university president, Dr. Constantine W. Curris.[14]
Longwood
Luther spent nine seasons as the head coach of Division II Longwood University, where he was selected Mason-Dixon Conference and Kodak Division II South District coach of the year in 1988. One of his players, Jerome Kersey, would be drafted in the second round of the 1984 NBA draft. His overall record at Longwood was 136–105.[15]
Egypt
Luther was the coach of the Egyptian national basketball team in 1990. Egypt finished 16th out of 16 teams in the 1990 FIBA World Championship.
Tennessee-Martin
Luther coached Tennessee-Martin from 1990-1999. There he compiled a 72–163 record. His 319 total victories while a coach in the OVC ranks first all-time in league history. Luther was named OVC Coach of the Year in 1996, making him the only coach to win Coach of the Year honors at two different OVC institutions.[16] After leaving UT Martin, Luther spent one season as the coach of Bethel College before retiring.
Death
Luther died on May 8, 2021, at Hillview Nursing Center in Dresden, TN. His was married to Linda Wren Luther.[17]
Head coaching record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DePauw Tigers (Indiana Collegiate Conference) (1954–1958) | |||||||||
| 1954–55 | DePauw | 8–11–1 | |||||||
| 1955–56 | DePauw | 13–8 | |||||||
| 1956–57 | DePauw | 12–9 | |||||||
| 1957–58 | DePauw | 12–12 | |||||||
| DePauw: | 45–40–1 (.529) | ||||||||
| Murray State Racers (Ohio Valley Conference) (1958–1974) | |||||||||
| 1958–59 | Murray State | 10–15 | 3–9 | 7th | |||||
| 1959–60 | Murray State | 12–11 | 7–4 | 3rd | |||||
| 1960–61 | Murray State | 13–10 | 7–5 | 4th | |||||
| 1961–62 | Murray State | 13–12 | 5–7 | 5th | |||||
| 1962–63 | Murray State | 13–9 | 6–6 | 4th | |||||
| 1963–64 | Murray State | 16–9 | 11–3 | 1st | NCAA University Division Round of 25 | ||||
| 1964–65 | Murray State | 19–7 | 9–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 1965–66 | Murray State | 13–12 | 8–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 1966–67 | Murray State | 14–9 | 8–6 | 2nd | |||||
| 1967–68 | Murray State | 16–8 | 10–4 | T–1st | |||||
| 1968–69 | Murray State | 22–6 | 11–3 | T–1st | NCAA University Division Round of 25 | ||||
| 1969–70 | Murray State | 17–9 | 9–5 | 2nd | |||||
| 1970–71 | Murray State | 19–5 | 10–4 | 2nd | |||||
| 1971–72 | Murray State | 15–11 | 6–8 | 5th | |||||
| 1972–73 | Murray State | 17–8 | 9–5 | 2nd | |||||
| 1973–74 | Murray State | 12–13 | 6–8 | 5th | |||||
| 1974–75 | Murray State | 10–15 | 3–11 | 7th | |||||
| Murray State: | 241–154 (.610) | 125–88 (.587) | |||||||
| Longwood (NCAA Division II independent) (1981–1983) | |||||||||
| 1981–82 | Longwood | 15–8 | |||||||
| 1982–83 | Longwood | 15–10 | |||||||
| Longwood Lancers (Mason–Dixon Conference) (1983–1988) | |||||||||
| 1983–84 | Longwood | 15–12 | 7–3 | 2nd | |||||
| 1984–85 | Longwood | 11–17 | 3–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1985–86 | Longwood | 14–13 | 7–3 | 2nd | |||||
| 1986–87 | Longwood | 13–14 | 3–5 | 3rd | |||||
| 1987–88 | Longwood | 19–10 | 6–2 | T–1st | |||||
| Longwood Lancers (NCAA Division II independent) (1988–1990) | |||||||||
| 1988–89 | Longwood | 20–7 | |||||||
| 1989–90 | Longwood | 14–14 | |||||||
| Longwood: | 136–105 (.564) | 26–20 (.565) | |||||||
| UT Martin (Gulf South Conference) (1990–1991) | |||||||||
| 1990–91 | UT Martin | 5–15 | 2–14 | ||||||
| UT Martin (Ohio Valley Conference) (1991–1999) | |||||||||
| 1991–92 | UT Martin | 9–19 | |||||||
| 1992–93 | UT Martin | 7–19 | 4–12 | T–8th | |||||
| 1993–94 | UT Martin | 5–22 | 3–13 | 9th | |||||
| 1994–95 | UT Martin | 7–20 | 5–11 | 9th | |||||
| 1995–96 | UT Martin | 13–14 | 9–7 | T–4th | |||||
| 1996–97 | UT Martin | 11–16 | 8–10 | 7th | |||||
| 1997–98 | UT Martin | 7–20 | 5–13 | T–8th | |||||
| 1998–99 | UT Martin | 8–18 | 5–13 | 9th | |||||
| UT Martin: | 72–163 (.306) | 39–79 (.331) | |||||||
| Bethel Wildcats (Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1999–2000) | |||||||||
| 1999–00 | Bethel | 6–27 | |||||||
| Bethel: | 6–27 (.182) | ||||||||
| Total: | 500–489–1 (.506) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||