Legendary Basketball Coach Lefty Driesell Passes Away

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HARRISONBURG, Va. – Charles "Lefty" Driesell, a member of both the James Madison Athletics Hall of Fame and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, passed away early Saturday morning, Feb. 17, at age 92. Driesell led four programs to the NCAA Tournament, including JMU in 1994, and is the only coach in NCAA history to win at least 100 games at four different schools. "Lefty was a larger-than-life figure who made a significant impact wherever he went, particularly at James Madison and our men's basketball program," Director of Athletics Jeff Bourne said. "Although my time at JMU did not overlap with his, his imprint on our program was evident from day one. On behalf of JMU Athletics, we are so grateful for Lefty's contributions to JMU and to the sport of college basketball. We send our condolences to his family and friends." "Everyone in our program is deeply saddened by the loss of Lefty Driesell," current JMU Head Coach Mark Byington said. "I want to send his family and friends my heartfelt condolences. He had great impact at JMU and a legendary impact on college basketball." Driesell was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2018, the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007 and was inducted into the JMU Athletics Hall in 2005. He served as JMU head coach from 1988-1997, compiling a 159-111 record in nine seasons. JMU won the CAA Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 while also making NIT appearances in 1990, 1991, 1992 and 1993 as part of one of the best five-year stretches in program history for the Dukes. Driesell is one of the winningest head coaches in NCAA history and also the only coach in NCAA history to have been named conference Coach of the Year in four different conferences (Southern Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Colonial Athletic Association, Atlantic Sun Conference). At the time of his retirement, Driesell was the fourth-winningest Division I men's basketball coach of all time and is still the 16th-winningest head coach in history with 786 career victories (786-394 overall in 41 seasons). After nine seasons at Davidson College and 17 seasons at the University of Maryland, Driesell coached at JMU from 1988-97. The Dukes went 16-14 in his first season in Harrisonburg, then for five straight seasons from 1989-90 to 1993-94, JMU had or tied for the CAA's best regular-season record. JMU went to the NCAA Tournament in 1994 with Driesell at the helm after winning its first CAA tournament title. Driesell was named the CAA Coach of the Year after the 1989-90 season, when the Dukes went 20-11 and 11-3 in CAA play, and after the 1991-92 season, when they went 21-11 and 12-2 in CAA play.   At Davidson, Driesell went 176-65 from 1960-69 and won five Southern Conference titles. He took the Wildcats to the NCAA Tournament in 1966, 1968 and 1969. Davidson advanced as far as the Elite Eight in both 1968 and 1969. Driesell had his longest stint at Maryland, where he coached for 17 years. He led the Terrapins to eight NCAA Tournaments and made it to the Elite Eight in 1973 and 1975. He also won the 1972 NIT and 1984 ACC tournament titles at Maryland and was named ACC Coach of the Year in 1975 and 1980. After JMU, Driesell coached five full seasons at Georgia State and had a 103-59 record before retiring during his sixth season. Driesell took the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and the NIT in 2002. Driesell played basketball at Duke University in the early 1950s and is a native of Norfolk, Va. His son, Chuck Driesell, served on his JMU coaching staff from 1989-1996. Two of his children, Pam ('82) and Carolyn ('93), are JMU grads, and a grandson, Jake, is a current JMU student.