Dick Bennett

Dick Bennett
Sport(s)	Basketball
Biographical details
Born	April 20, 1943 (1943-04-20) (age 68)
Place of birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Playing career
1962–1965	Ripon College (WI)
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1976–1985 1985–1995 1995–2001 2003–2006	UW-Stevens Point UW-Green Bay Wisconsin Washington State
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NCAA Regional Championships – Final Four (2000) Mid-Continent Conference Regular Season Championship (1992, 1994) Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Regular Season Championship (1982, 1983, 1984, 1985)
Awards
Wisconsin State University Conference Coach of the Year (1982, 1985) NAIA Coach of the Year (1984) Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year (1990, 1992) NABC District 11 Coach of the Year (1992, 1994) Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame (2007)

Dick Bennett (born April 20, 1943, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American college basketball coach who is best known for revitalizing the Wisconsin Badgers basketball program. He is the father of current Virginia Cavaliers head coach Tony Bennett and current Northern Illinois women's basketball head coach Kathi Bennett.

Coaching career

Bennett had enormous success at each level of collegiate coaching in Wisconsin. In the mid-1970s, he led Eau Claire Memorial High School to the state title game. In the mid-1980s, he led the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point to an NAIA title game. In the early 1990s he brought UW–Green Bay to its first three NCAA tournament appearances. And in 2000, after five years in Madison, he took the Badgers to the Final Four.

High school

Prior to collegiate coaching, Bennett was a successful high school coach for eleven years, winning 168 games and leading Eau Claire Memorial to a runner-up finish at the State tournament during the 1975–76 season.^[1]

UW–Stevens Point

Bennett began his collegiate coaching career at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point in 1976, where he won 173 games in nine seasons.^[2] He was named NAIA Coach of the Year after leading the 1983–84 squad to a 28–4 record and national runner-up finish. That team featured former NBA All-Star Terry Porter and former Saint Louis University head coach Brad Soderberg. In 2009, the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point renamed its basketball court Bennett Court to honor both Dick Bennett and his brother Jack Bennett.

UW–Green Bay

In 1985, Bennett moved to the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. The Phoenix posted a 4–24 record the year before Bennett arrived, but had reached the second round of the NIT tournament by 1990.

Bennett's son Tony became the star of the team during the early 1990s. A guard who played several seasons in the NBA, Tony Bennett led the team to its first NCAA tournament berth in 1991, where the Phoenix lost to Michigan State in the first round. The following year, the UW–GB rolled to a 25–5 and won its first regular season conference title, but lost in the conference tournament. After Tony Bennett's departure in 1992, the 1993–94 team won the conference title and tournament on its way to the NCAA tournament. There, the 12th-seeded Phoenix defeated 5th-ranked California, whose roster included Jason Kidd and Lamond Murray. In Bennett's final year with the Phoenix, his team returned to the NCAA Tournament where they lost to Big Ten champion Purdue.

Wisconsin Badgers

In 1995, Bennett replaced Stan Van Gundy at the University of Wisconsin–Madison as the head coach of the men's basketball team. In Bennett's first year, the Badgers earned a bid in the NIT. Over the next four seasons Bennett coached Wisconsin to three NCAA tournament appearances including the Final Four (1999–2000). The Badgers had played in a total of three NCAA tournaments in the 97 years before his arrival. Bennett also coached Wisconsin to its first ever 20-win season in 1998–99. Bennett resigned three games into the 2000–01 season citing burnout – he said he "simply was drained".^[3] During his tenure at Wisconsin he was 94–68 (.580) from 1995–2000.

Washington State Cougars

After two years off, Bennett was hired at Washington State University on March 29, 2003. He faced a daunting rebuilding project. Making strong defense a cornerstone, he started building around veterans Thomas Kelati and Jeff Varem and brought in what arguably was the greatest recruiting class in school history in 2004 (Kyle Weaver, Derrick Low, Robbie Cowgill, Chris Henry, Daven Harmeling and Josh Akognon). Bennett stayed three seasons at WSU. The team didn't post a winning record, but they did secure wins over teams they traditionally could never beat, UCLA, Arizona and Stanford. Bennett retired following the 2005–06 season and handed the program to his son and top assistant, Tony Bennett. Tony proceeded to guide the Cougars to back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances and a Sweet 16 showing in 2007.^[4]

Coaching Awards

1982 Wisconsin State University Conference Coach of the Year
1985 Wisconsin State University Conference Coach of the Year
1985 NAIA District IV Coach of the Year
1985 NAIA Area IV Coach of the Year
1990 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year
1992 Mid-Continent Conference Coach of the Year
1992 NABC District 11 Coach of the Year
1994 Basketball Times Midwest Coach of the Year
1994 NABC District 11 Coach of the Year^[5] 2007 Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame^[6]

Legacy

Bennett recruited players who were willing to place teamwork and discipline ahead of personal statistics. His players excelled in the classroom as well as on the court. While few NBA players emerged from his programs, most of his players have gone on to success in other careers, including coaching. He was elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 2007.

Background and family

Bennett went to high school in Clintonville, Wisconsin, and graduated from Ripon College. His daughter Kathi Bennett is currently head women's basketball coach at Northern Illinois and is a former head women's basketball coach at Indiana University. His son Tony Bennett, previously the head assistant coach, was hired as WSU head coach after his father's retirement. Two years later, he accepted his current position as head coach at Virginia. His brother Jack Bennett recently retired as head coach at the University of Wisconsin–Stevens Point after winning back-to-back Division III national titles in 2004 and 2005. Another brother, Tom Bennett, died of AIDS-related complications at age 38 in January 1996.

Head coaching record

NAIA Division I

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
UW–Stevens Point (Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1976–1985)
1976–1977	UW–Stevens Point	9–17	4–12	9th
1977–1978	UW–Stevens Point	12–14	8–8	T–5th
1978–1979	UW–Stevens Point	14–12	9–7	T–3rd
1979–1980	UW–Stevens Point	18–10	13–3	2nd
1980–1981	UW–Stevens Point	19–8	11–5	3rd
1981–1982	UW–Stevens Point	22–6	13–3	T–1st
1982–1983	UW–Stevens Point	26–4	15–1	1st	NAIA Participant
1983–1984	UW–Stevens Point	28–4	14–2	T–1st	NAIA Runner–up
1984–1985	UW–Stevens Point	25–5	14–2	1st	NAIA Participant
UW–Stevens Point:		173–80	101–43
Total:		173–80
National Champion         Conference Regular Season Champion         Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Division Champion

NCAA Division I

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
UW–Green Bay (Mid-Continent Conference) (1985–1994)
1985–1986	UW–Green Bay	5–23	3–11	T–7th
1986–1987	UW–Green Bay	15–14	8–6	4th
1987–1988	UW–Green Bay	18–9	9–5	3rd
1988–1989	UW–Green Bay	14–14	6–6	4th
1989–1990	UW–Green Bay	24–8	9–3	2nd	NIT 2nd round
1990–1991	UW–Green Bay	24–7	13–3	2nd	NCAA 1st round
1991–1992	UW–Green Bay	25–5	14–2	1st	NIT 1st round
1992–1993	UW–Green Bay	13–14	9–7	T–4th
1993–1994	UW–Green Bay	27–7	15–3	1st	NCAA 2nd round
UW–Green Bay (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) (1994–1995)
1994–1995	UW–Green Bay	22–8	11–4	T–2nd	NCAA 1st round
UW–Green Bay:		187–109	97–50
Wisconsin (Big Ten Conference) (1995–2001)
1995–1996	Wisconsin	17–15	7–9	8th	NIT 2nd round
1996–1997	Wisconsin	18–10	10–6	T–4th	NCAA 1st round
1997–1998	Wisconsin	12–19	3–13	T–9th
1998–1999	Wisconsin	22–10	9–7	T3rd	NCAA 1st round
1999–2000	Wisconsin	22–14	8–8	6th	NCAA Final Four
2000–2001	Wisconsin	2–1
Wisconsin:		93–69	37–43
Washington State (Pacific-10 Conference) (2003–2006)
2003–2004	Washington State	13–16	7–11	T–7th
2004–2005	Washington State	12–16	7–11	T–6th
2005–2006	Washington State	11–17	4–14	10th
Washington State:		36–49	18–36
Total:		316–227
National Champion         Conference Regular Season Champion         Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion       Conference Division Champion

References

1. ^ *Profile at Washington State
2. ^ "UW–Stevens Point To Honor Bennetts". http://www.wiacsports.com/mbasket/BennettCourt.html. Retrieved March 31, 2009. 
3. ^ AP (2000-11-30). "Wisconsin's Bennett Steps Down". CBS Sports. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2000/11/30/sports/main253623.shtml. 
4. ^ AP (2006-02-28). "Bennett: First goal met". Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. http://www.jsonline.com/story/?id=404866. 
5. ^ Profile at Washington State
6. ^ http://www.badgerstategames.org/hall_fame/members_byyear

Persondata
Name	Bennett, Dick
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1943-04-20
Place of birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA
Date of death
Place of death