Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
George Raveling
George Henry Raveling (June 27, 1937 – September 1, 2025) was an American college basketball player and coach. He played for the Villanova Wildcats, and was the men's head coach for the Washington State Cougars (1972–1983), Iowa Hawkeyes (1983–1986), and USC Trojans (1986–1994). He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Raveling was born in a segregated hospital in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 1937. He was raised in Washington, D.C. and did not play basketball until he was in ninth grade. He was enrolled at St. Michael's, a Catholic boarding school in Hoban Heights, Pennsylvania; it was founded as an orphanage in 1916 near Scranton and closed in 2010. His grandmother's employer helped him enroll and he converted to Catholicism while a student there. Raveling's father died when he was 9 and his mother was institutionalized when he was 13, so academics became among the most influential forces in his life.
Raveling attended college at Villanova University near Philadelphia and played basketball for the Wildcats. An outstanding rebounder, he set school single game and season rebounding records in his time. Raveling was team captain in his senior season, featured on the cover of the 1960 media guide, and led the Wildcats to consecutive appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1959 and 1960. The Philadelphia Warriors selected him in the eighth round (pick 7) of the 1960 NBA draft.
Raveling became an assistant coach at his alma mater Villanova, then moved to Maryland in 1969 on the staff of new head coach Lefty Driesell. At College Park, he became the first African American coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
On August 28, 1963, as Martin Luther King Jr. waved goodbye to an audience of over 250,000 "March on Washington" participants, Raveling asked King if he could have the speech. King handed Raveling the original typewritten "I Have a Dream" pages. Raveling was on the podium with King at that moment, having volunteered to provide security. He kept the original, and had been offered more than three million dollars for the speech in 2013. He declined the offer. In 2021, he selected Villanova University to be the new steward of the speech. The document was loaned to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., as part of a long-term arrangement, where it is on rotational display.
Hired in Pullman in April 1972, Raveling was the first African-American basketball coach in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8, now Pac-12). He guided the Washington State Cougars from 1972–1983 with two NCAA tournament appearances during his eleven years. The first was in 1980 and marked the first time WSU was included in the NCAA bracket since the runner-up finish in 1941; the second was three years later in 1983. Raveling was one of the winningest coaches in Washington State basketball history, with a 167–136 (.551) record and seven winning seasons, including five straight from the 1975–76 campaign through the 1980 season. Upon his death, Raveling was characterized as a transformative figure in his time at Washington State, bringing an ACC professionalism to the school's basketball program and turning its recruiting outlook from regional to national.
While with the Cougars, Raveling was the UPI Pac-8 coach of the year twice (1976 (shared), 1983), and was the national runner-up for AP coach of the year in 1983. He was honored by WSU with his induction into the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame and Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2004. In February 2020, Washington State held a halftime ceremony with Raveling in attendance and raised his name on a banner to hang above the court as one of the legends of the program.
Raveling succeeded Lute Olson as head coach at the University of Iowa in April 1983, and guided the Hawkeyes to consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA tournament berths in 1985 and 1986.
Hub AI
George Raveling AI simulator
(@George Raveling_simulator)
George Raveling
George Henry Raveling (June 27, 1937 – September 1, 2025) was an American college basketball player and coach. He played for the Villanova Wildcats, and was the men's head coach for the Washington State Cougars (1972–1983), Iowa Hawkeyes (1983–1986), and USC Trojans (1986–1994). He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Raveling was born in a segregated hospital in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 1937. He was raised in Washington, D.C. and did not play basketball until he was in ninth grade. He was enrolled at St. Michael's, a Catholic boarding school in Hoban Heights, Pennsylvania; it was founded as an orphanage in 1916 near Scranton and closed in 2010. His grandmother's employer helped him enroll and he converted to Catholicism while a student there. Raveling's father died when he was 9 and his mother was institutionalized when he was 13, so academics became among the most influential forces in his life.
Raveling attended college at Villanova University near Philadelphia and played basketball for the Wildcats. An outstanding rebounder, he set school single game and season rebounding records in his time. Raveling was team captain in his senior season, featured on the cover of the 1960 media guide, and led the Wildcats to consecutive appearances in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1959 and 1960. The Philadelphia Warriors selected him in the eighth round (pick 7) of the 1960 NBA draft.
Raveling became an assistant coach at his alma mater Villanova, then moved to Maryland in 1969 on the staff of new head coach Lefty Driesell. At College Park, he became the first African American coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
On August 28, 1963, as Martin Luther King Jr. waved goodbye to an audience of over 250,000 "March on Washington" participants, Raveling asked King if he could have the speech. King handed Raveling the original typewritten "I Have a Dream" pages. Raveling was on the podium with King at that moment, having volunteered to provide security. He kept the original, and had been offered more than three million dollars for the speech in 2013. He declined the offer. In 2021, he selected Villanova University to be the new steward of the speech. The document was loaned to the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C., as part of a long-term arrangement, where it is on rotational display.
Hired in Pullman in April 1972, Raveling was the first African-American basketball coach in the Pacific-8 Conference (Pac-8, now Pac-12). He guided the Washington State Cougars from 1972–1983 with two NCAA tournament appearances during his eleven years. The first was in 1980 and marked the first time WSU was included in the NCAA bracket since the runner-up finish in 1941; the second was three years later in 1983. Raveling was one of the winningest coaches in Washington State basketball history, with a 167–136 (.551) record and seven winning seasons, including five straight from the 1975–76 campaign through the 1980 season. Upon his death, Raveling was characterized as a transformative figure in his time at Washington State, bringing an ACC professionalism to the school's basketball program and turning its recruiting outlook from regional to national.
While with the Cougars, Raveling was the UPI Pac-8 coach of the year twice (1976 (shared), 1983), and was the national runner-up for AP coach of the year in 1983. He was honored by WSU with his induction into the WSU Athletics Hall of Fame and Pac-12 Hall of Honor in 2004. In February 2020, Washington State held a halftime ceremony with Raveling in attendance and raised his name on a banner to hang above the court as one of the legends of the program.
Raveling succeeded Lute Olson as head coach at the University of Iowa in April 1983, and guided the Hawkeyes to consecutive 20-win seasons and NCAA tournament berths in 1985 and 1986.