William Lawrence Cofield (September 21, 1939 – June 20, 1983) 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 Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of Athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Coac ...

. He was the first black basketball head coach of a

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference, among others) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Fa ...

team, coaching Wisconsin from 1976 to 1982.

Background

Cofield was born and raised in Carrier Mills, Illinois. He played college basketball at Casper Junior College in

Casper, Wyoming Casper is a city in and the county seat of Natrona County, Wyoming, United States. Casper is the List of municipalities in Wyoming, second-most populous city in the state after Cheyenne, Wyoming, Cheyenne, with the population at 59,038 as of th ...

and at

McKendree University McKendree University (McK), formerly McKendree College, is a private university in Lebanon, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1828 as the "Lebanon Seminary", it is the oldest college or university in Illinois. The school was renamed McKendree ...

Lebanon, Illinois Lebanon is a city in St. Clair County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,691 at the 2020 census It is a part of the Metro East region of the Greater St. Louis metropolitan area. Lebanon is home to McKendree University, the oldest ...

, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in physical education in 1963. He received a master's degree in physical education from the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky, United States. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical ...

in 1967.

Career

Cofield's first coaching assignment was at H. E. Davis Junior High School in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

, Ohio in 1963. After two years he was named to coach

East Technical High School East Technical High School or East Tech is a secondary school under the operation of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District in Cleveland, Ohio. History The school, when it opened on October 5, 1908, was the first public trade school in the ...

in Cleveland, as an assistant coach where the team went 20–1 in 1965–66. Cofield's first year of collegiate coaching came at

Kentucky State University Kentucky State University (KSU, and KYSU) is a public historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, and becoming a land-grant college in 1890, KSU is the second ...

, where he spent one year as an assistant before being named to head the Lincoln University of Pennsylvania team. His two-year record of 38–12 included two conference championships and NAIA playoff berths. Cofield moved to

Prairie View A&M University Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU or PV) is a Public university, public Historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Prairie View, Texas, United States. Founded in 1876, it is one of Texas's two lan ...

Prairie View, Texas Prairie View is a city in Waller County, Texas, United States, situated on the northwestern edge of the metropolitan area. The population was 8,184 at the 2020 census. Prairie View A&M University, the second-oldest public university in Texas, i ...

, where he posted a 57–48 record over four years. His 1972–73 squad went 19–8, placing second in the

Southwestern Athletic Conference The Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama, which is made up of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the Southern United St ...

. Cofield became the nation's first black athletic director and head coach at a predominantly white institution of higher learning by accepting both positions at the College of Racine in 1973. There, Cofield hired

Bo Ryan William Francis "Bo" Ryan Jr. (born December 20, 1947) is an American former college basketball coach. He was the head coach of the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball, Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team of the University of Wisconsin–Mad ...

as his assistant coach. Following a 14–15 season, the school closed. Cofield joined the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

staff, where he served as an assistant under head coach

Terry Holland Michael Terrence Holland (April 2, 1942 – February 26, 2023) was an American college athletics administrator and basketball player and coach. Holland served as the head men's basketball coach at Davidson College from 1969 to 1974 and at the U ...

for two seasons. Cofield signed a five-year contract to become the head coach at

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

on March 16, 1976, succeeding John Powless who had resigned one month prior on February 11 during a Badgers' 14-game losing streak. He coached at Wisconsin for six seasons. His best team was his 1979–80 team, which posted a record of 15–14 and had future

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

players

Wes Matthews Wesley Joel Matthews Sr. (born August 24, 1959) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won two NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers. He is the father of forme ...

and Claude Gregory on its roster. Cofield is a member of the

Sports Hall of Fame. He died at age 43 from cancer in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

in 1983. He is buried at the Sunset Lawn Cemetery in

Harrisburg, Illinois Harrisburg () is a city in and the county seat of Saline County, Illinois, United States. It is located about southwest of Evansville, Indiana, and southeast of St. Louis, Missouri. Its 2020 population was 8,219, and the surrounding Harris ...

Head coaching record

College

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cofield, Bill 1939 births 1983 deaths Basketball coaches from Illinois Basketball players from Illinois College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Dominican College of Racine faculty Casper Thunderbirds men's basketball players Lincoln Lions men's basketball coaches McKendree Bearcats men's basketball players People from Saline County, Illinois Prairie View A&M Panthers basketball coaches University of Kentucky alumni Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen