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Hall of Fame

Ed Cole

  • Class
  • Induction
    1990
  • Sport(s)

Men's BasketballCoach

Coaching Accomplishments:

Ed was a St. Mary’s College basketball coachfor six years. He compiled record of 107-64 with a win/losspercentage of .626. In Fall 1966, he was initially hired to be theassistant basketball coach but was elevated to head coach by theathletic director. His record for

the 1966-67 season was 16-8. He left coaching afterthe first season to return to his busi­ness. Two years later,in Fall 1969, he returned as assistant coach but took over as headcoach when the incumbent left before the start of the season. Edremained the head basketball coach through the 1973-74 season. Hewas, at one point, the men’s basketball coach with the mostwins in the school’s history.

Coaching Highlights:

During the 1969-70 season the basketball teamfinished second in the Potomac Intercol­legiate Conference(PIC) even though it was the school’s first year competingwith four year colleges. During the 1970-71 season, the teamcompiled a 20-5 record. They also finished third in the conferenceand received a berth to the National Association ofIn­tercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) District 19 playoffs,finishing second overall. In the 1971-72 season, Ed was chosen asNAIA District 19 Coach of the Year. In 1972-73, the team was ranked30th in the nation in the NAIA basketball poll with, in CoachCole’s words, “three of the finest small collegeplayers in the country in Simmons, Adams and Bryan.” (Note:Coach was referring to Walter “Shorty”Simmons ’75 (1991 Hall of Famer); Joseph“Dale” Adams ’73 (1995 Hall of Famer);and Donald “Donny” Bryan ’73(1990 Hall of Famer). In 1973-74, during his last season coaching,Ed won his 100th game. One of his other players, DonneeGray ’76 (1998 Hall of Famer) said of him, “hewas a good teacher and very dedicated to the team.”

Your Biggest Rivals During Your YearsCoaching:

“University of Maryland, Baltimore County;George Mason University; Coppin State College and SalisburyUniversity. During one season, Coppin State won the NAIAChampionship, but not before St. Mary’s beat them twice inthe regular season.”

Your Coaching Philosophies:

“Keep practices short – no more than twohours because that is about the length of a game. Do the best youcan, even if you lose by 20. And if you win by 20, don’t holdyour head too high.” Coach Cole never cut a player and playedeveryone at least a little bit in each game.

Achievements after Coaching:

As owner of Cole Travel Agency in Lexington Park,Maryland, Ed and his wife, Pat, were honored as “UnsungHeroes” by the Maryland Chapter of the Association forFundrais­ing Professionals in November 2004. The Coles’efforts have allowed St. Mary’s students to take advantage ofstudy-abroad programs; made it possible for athletic teams totravel to national competitions and for faculty to attend nationaland international conferences. The Cole Cinema in the Campus Centeris named in honor of Ed and Pat Cole. The cinema serves not only asa movie theater, but provides a meeting venue for on- andoff-campus groups. Ed chaired the Athletics and Recreation CenterHonorary Commit­tee which led the effort to raise $1.5 millionfor athletics endowment.


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