Alexander G. Severance Sr. (June 3, 1905 – April 1, 1985) was an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding ...

coach. Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

, Severance graduated from Villanova University in 1929 and received his J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law in 1932. In addition to coaching basketball for Villanova, Severance was a

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professor ...

of business law at the university. Severance coached the Villanova Wildcats men's basketball team for 25 seasons (1936–1961), compiling a 413–201 (.673) record. Among his former players is

Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame is an American history museum and hall of fame, located at 1000 Hall of Fame Avenue in Springfield, Massachusetts. It serves as basketball's most complete library, in addition to promoting and pres ...

member

Paul Arizin Paul Joseph Arizin (April 9, 1928 – December 12, 2006), nicknamed "Pitchin' Paul", was an American basketball player who spent his entire National Basketball Association (NBA) career with the Philadelphia Warriors from 1950 to 1962. He reti ...

. Severance coached his team to the first Final Four of the NCAA tournament in 1939. His teams also played in the NCAA Tournament in 1949 and 1955. Under his leadership, Villanova was selected for the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) in 1959 and 1960. Severance died on the morning of April 1, 1985, in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

, on the day Villanova won the 1985 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament. The championship game was played at Rupp Arena in Lexington.

Head coaching record

Basketball

References

1905 births 1985 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from New York (state) Basketball players from New York City Temple University alumni Villanova University faculty Villanova Wildcats baseball coaches Villanova Wildcats men's basketball coaches Villanova Wildcats men's basketball players Eastern Basketball Association coaches {{US-basketball-coach-stub

Head coaching record

Basketball

See also

References