Lynn Nance

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Lynn Nance
Biographical details
Born (1942-09-03) September 3, 1942 (age 81)
Granby, Missouri, U.S.
Playing career
1961–1963Southwest Baptist
1963–1965Washington
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1966–1967Versailles (MO)
1967–1968Washington (JV)
1968–1970Washington (asst.)
1974–1976Kentucky (asst.)
1976–1980Iowa State
1980–1985Central Missouri State
1985–1986Fresno State (asst.)
1986–1989Saint Mary's
1989–1993Washington
1996–1999Southwest Baptist
2010–2011LSU (asst.)
Head coaching record
Overall302–224 (.574)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Division II national (1984)
WCC regular season (1989)
Awards
As player:
2× Junior College All-American (1962, 1963)
As coach:
Division II Coach of the Year (1984)
WCC Coach of the Year (1989)

Lynn Sanford Nance (born September 3, 1942) is an American former college basketball coach. He also served as head coach at Iowa State, Central Missouri State, Saint Mary's, Washington, and Southwest Baptist.

Early life and education[edit]

Nance was born in Granby, Missouri, where he graduated from Granby High School.[1]

At Southwest Baptist Junior College (now University), Nance was a junior college All-American player before transferring to the University of Washington, where he became an honorable mention all-American.[2] Nance went on to be selected in the fourth round of the 1965 NBA draft by the St. Louis Hawks.[3] Unfortunately, a knee injury ended his professional career before he ever played a game for St. Louis.[2]

Coaching career[edit]

Nance began his coaching career as head basketball coach at Versailles High School in Versailles, Missouri.[4] He was freshman team coach at Washington in 1967–68. From 1968 to 1970, Nance was assistant varsity coach at Washington under Tex Winter before leaving to join the FBI.[2]

In 1974, Nance returned to coaching basketball, as an assistant on Joe B. Hall's staff at Kentucky for two seasons.[2]

From 1976 to 1980, Nance was head coach at Iowa State, during which Nance went 41–59.[5] Following an 8–10 start to the season, Nance resigned from Iowa State on January 29, 1980. Iowa State reached a settlement to buy out the remaining two years on his contract, worth around $36,000.[6]

Nance's next job was at Central Missouri State (now Central Missouri), an Division II where he was head coach from 1980 to 1985.[5] Nance led Central Missouri State to a 29–3 record and national championship in the 1983–84 season.[2]

Returning to the Division I level, Nance was an assistant coach at Fresno State in 1985–86.[2] Nance again worked as a head coach from 1986 to 1989 at Saint Mary's College, going 61–27 with a school record 25 wins, West Coast Athletic Conference title, and NCAA tournament appearance in 1988–89.[2][7]

Nance's final two head coaching jobs were at schools where he played college basketball. From 1989 to 1993, Nance was head coach at Washington, going 50–62.[5] From 1996 to 1999, Nance was head coach at Southwest Baptist, going 36–42.[5]

In 2010, Nance returned to coaching to serve as an assistant under Trent Johnson at LSU.[2]

Outside of coaching[edit]

Aside from his career as a coach, Nance also served as a special agent for the FBI from 1970 to 1973.[2] From 1973 to 1974, Nance was an investigator for the NCAA.[8] Nance drew upon his experience as an FBI agent to write a novel titled Bridger: Deadly Peril.[2]

In 1989, Nance spoke negatively about his former job as an NCAA investigator and said that NCAA rules "don’t take into consideration that some players’ parents don’t have money."[8]

Head coaching record[edit]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Iowa State Cyclones (Big Eight Conference) (1976–1980)
1976–77 Iowa State 8–19* 4–10* 8th*
1977–78 Iowa State 14–13 9–5 2nd
1978–79 Iowa State 11–16 6–8 6th
1979–80 Iowa State 8–10** 2–3** (resigned)
Iowa State: 40–59 (.404) 21–26 (.447)
Central Missouri State Mules (Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1980–1985)
1980–81 Central Missouri State 20–9 11–3 T–1st[9] NCAA Division II Regional Fourth Place
1981–82 Central Missouri State 20–9 8–4 T–2nd[9] NCAA Division II Regional Third Place
1982–83 Central Missouri State 23–7 9–3 2nd[9] NCAA Division II regional final
1983–84 Central Missouri State 29–3 11–1 1st[9] NCAA Division II Champions
1984–85 Central Missouri State 22–7 9–3 T–1st[9] NCAA Division II Regional Third Place
Central Missouri State: 114–35 (.765) 48–14 (.774)
Saint Mary's Gaels (West Coast Athletic Conference) (1986–1989)
1986–87 Saint Mary's 17–13 7–7 3rd
1987–88 Saint Mary's 19–9 9–5 2nd
1988–89 Saint Mary's 25–5 12–2 1st NCAA Division I first round
Saint Mary's: 61–27 (.693) 28–14 (.667)
Washington Huskies (Pacific-10 Conference) (1989–1993)
1989–90 Washington 11–17 5–13 9th
1990–91 Washington 14–14 5–13 10th
1991–92 Washington 12–17 5–13 8th
1992–93 Washington 13–14 7–11 8th
Washington: 50–62 (.446) 22–50 (.306)
Southwest Baptist Bearcats (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association) (1996–1999)
1996–97 Southwest Baptist 11–14 5–13 10th[9]
1997–98 Southwest Baptist 13–14 6–10 T–8th[9]
1998–99 Southwest Baptist 12–14 5–11 9th[9]
Southwest Baptist: 36–42 (.462) 16–34 (.320)
Total: 302–224 (.574)

      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

(*) ISU finished the season 7–20, but was later awarded a win vacated by Oklahoma State.
(**) Indicates record/standing at time of resignation from Iowa State.

References[edit]

  1. ^ Sherwin, Bob (December 13, 1992). "Lynn Nance's Pivotal Year". The Seattle Times. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Lynn Nance Bio". lsusports.net. Louisiana State University. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  3. ^ "1965 NBA Draft - Basketball-Reference.com". Basketball-Reference.com.
  4. ^ "1967.PDF".
  5. ^ a b c d "NCAA Statistics".
  6. ^ "Nance settles with ISU for $36,300". The Des Moines Register. January 30, 1980. p. 19. Retrieved September 6, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "1988-89 Saint Mary's Gaels Schedule and Results".
  8. ^ a b Norwood, Robyn (January 28, 1989). "To Know Rules Is Not to Love Them". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h 2008-09 Men's Basketball Record Book (PDF). Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. 2008. pp. 14–16. Retrieved September 5, 2020.