(St. Louis, MO) – Ohio Valley Conference coaching icons crossed serious barriers Thursday night. Austin Peay’s Dave Loos and Belmont’s Rick Byrd keep climbing the coach’s wins list.
Rick Byrd – 725
Legendary DePaul Head Coach Ray Meyer is the latest icon for Rick Byrd to pass. Meyer spent 42 years with the Blue Demons winning over 67 percent of his games. The names that are just before Byrd, read like the ‘who’s who’ of my early college basketball memories.
Norm Stewart, known mostly for his time at Missouri has collected 729 wins. Controversial Jerry Tarkanian spent 31 years on the left coast with Long Beach State, UNLV and Fresno State wining and dining his way to a .782 winning percentage and the same win total as Stewart.
Byrd’s 725 wins are good for number 40 on the all-time collegiate wins list, regardless of class or designation. The all time winningest coach in college basketball is McKendree University’s Harry Statham with 1,097 victories across his NAIA and now Division 2 career.
Number 725 happened Thursday when Belmont defeated UT-Martin 82-72.
Dave Loos – 400
Austin Peay defeated Southern Illinois Edwardsville and in so doing handed the dean of OVC coaches his 400th Austin Peay coaching victory. Loos who coached in the prep ranks in St. Louis, saw St. Louisan Josh Robinson (St. Mary’s High) score 39 points in the overtime victory. The Governors (9-12, 2-4) now have one more win than all of last season.
Loos’ 400 wins at the OVC school are the most in league history. Byrd and Jacksonville State’s James Green are tied for the second most OVC based wins with 88 (Belmont has been in the OVC four years). Loos has accumulated 482 wins overall.
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