Homer Drew Selected For Induction to National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame
Former Valparaiso University, IUSB and Bethel College men’s basketball head coach Homer Drew is among three coaches and six players who have been selected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Class of 2019. The honorees will officially be enshrined on Nov. 24 in Kansas City at the 2019 National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame Induction
Celebration presented by Nike.
Drew is joined by fellow former coaches Lute Olson and Rick Majerus, while Indiana’s Calbert Cheaney, Duke’s Shane Battier, Purdue’s Terry Dischinger, Providence’s Ernie DiGregorio, UNLV’s Larry Johnson and Stanford’s Todd Lichti have been selected as players.
Drew was a fixture on the Valpo sidelines for more than two decades, leading Valpo to 371 victories and nine postseason appearances while at the helm of the men’s basketball program.
Drew ended his career, which also included stints at Bethel (Ind.) and IU-South Bend, with 640 career victories over 34 seasons overall, which ranked sixth among active Division I coaches at the time of his retirement. The nine postseason appearances included seven trips to the NCAA Tournament, highlighted by Valpo’s run to the Sweet 16 in 1998.
A four-time Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year, Drew led the Brown and Gold to eight regular season conference championships, eight conference tournament titles, and 10 20-win seasons.
Drew was presented in 1999 with the Lumen Christi Medal, Valparaiso University’s highest honor, in recognition of a lay person’s distinguished service to church and society. He also was honored as one of the 150 most influential people in Valparaiso University history as part of Valpo’s 150th anniversary celebration in 2009.
Drew received the Naismith Good Sportsmanship Award in 1998 and was presented with the Mid-Continent Conference’s Commissioner’s Award of Merit in 2002. In 2010, the playing floor in the arena of Athletics-Recreation Center was named in his honor.
Drew is the third former Valpo coach to earn a spot in the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame. George Keogan (1919-1921) was selected as part of the Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2006, while Gene Bartow (1964-1970) was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2009.
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is located inside the College Basketball Experience (CBE), a world-class experiential entertainment facility adjacent to Kansas City’s Sprint Center. The Hall of Fame’s 14th induction celebration will precede the 2019 Hall of Fame Classic powered by ShotTracker, which will showcase Missouri, Oklahoma, Butler and Stanford competing Nov. 25-26 at Sprint Center.