Bill Guthridge Biography

 

Bill grew up in Parsons and attended Washington Grade School, West Junior High School, and Parsons High School graduating in 1955. In 1956 he attended Parsons Junior College before transferring to Kansas State University where he received his Bachelor’s Degree in 1960 and his Master’s Degree in 1963.

 

Bill went on to coach and teach Math for two years at Scott City High School before returning to K-State where he was assistant basketball coach for five years. In 1976 he was on the coaching team that brought a basketball gold medal to the US at the Montreal Olympic Games.

 

From 1967-1997 he was assistant basketball coach at The University of North Carolina. During his tenure under head coach Dean Smith the team became the winningest in Division I basketball history. He then took over as head coach for University of North Carolina in 1998. That year, Guthridge led the Tar Heels to the ACC tournament championship, the Final Four, a 34-4 record which set an NCAA record for the most wins by a coach in his first season, and was named ACC Coach of the Year and National Coach of the Year. He went on to take two out of three teams to the Final Four as head coach before retiring in July 2000. He has participated as either a player or coach in 14 Final Fours which is the most of any person in NCAA history. He also holds the record for the most wins in two years by a NCAA Coach.

 

Bill’s father, Wallace Guthridge, was Superintendent of the Parsons Schools, which at that time included Parsons Junior College, from 1941 until his death in 1967. Bill’s sister, Joan Rodkey, is a 1952 graduate of Parsons Junior College.