Dick Hunsaker (born April 11, 1954) is an American

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach and the former head men's basketball coach at

Utah Valley University Utah Valley University (UVU) is a public university in Orem, Utah, United States. UVU offers master's, bachelor's, associate degrees, and certificates. Previously called Utah Valley State College, the school attained university status in July ...

. He is also a former head and assistant coach at

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

. As one of

Rick Majerus Richard Raymond Majerus (February 17, 1948 – December 1, 2012) was an American basketball coach and TV analyst. He coached at Marquette University (1983–1986), Ball State University (1987–1989), the University of Utah (1989–2004), and S ...

's assistant coaches, he worked with the Cardinals for two seasons, including their berth in the

1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The 1989 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament involved 64 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of men's NCAA Division I college basketball. It began on March 16, 1989, and ended with the champio ...

. Hunsaker is best known for leading Ball State to the 1990 tournament. His team was led by

University of Arkansas at Little Rock The University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UA Little Rock, UALR) is a Public university, public research university in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States. Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the ...

transfers Paris McCurdy and Curtis Kidd, Muncie natives Chandler Thompson and Billy Butts, and

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

native Scott Nichols. The team, as a number 12 seed, defeated

Oregon State University Oregon State University (OSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Corvallis, Oregon, United States. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate degree programs and a variety of graduate and doctor ...

, which was led by

Gary Payton Gary Dwayne Payton Sr. (born July 23, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player who was a point guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Widely considered one of the greatest point guards of all time, he is best know ...

in the first round and

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

in the second round, before falling to eventual champions

UNLV The University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV) is a public land-grant research university in Paradise, Nevada, United States. The campus is about east of the Las Vegas Strip. It was formerly part of the University of Nevada from 1957 to 1969. ...

. His record while at Ball State was 97–33. Hunsaker left Ball State in 1993 in the midst of an NCAA Investigation, but claims to have never violated any rules. He coached the next two years in the

Continental Basketball Association The Continental Basketball Association (CBA), originally known as the Eastern Pennsylvania Basketball League, and later as the Eastern Professional Basketball League and the Eastern Basketball Association, was a men's professional basketball m ...

with

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

, Hartford and

Grand Rapids Grand Rapids is the largest city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, United States. With a population of 198,917 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 200,117 in 2024, Grand Rapids is the List of municipalities ...

. In 1995, he returned to the collegiate coaching ranks at Manchester College, where his record was 51–27. His next coaching job was at the

University of Utah The University of Utah (the U, U of U, or simply Utah) is a public university, public research university in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It was established in 1850 as the University of Deseret (Book of Mormon), Deseret by the General A ...

, where he served as an assistant to

in his final years. Majerus took a leave of absence after the 2000–01 season opener due to health problems, and Hunsaker became interim head coach. Majerus had every intention of returning, but announced in January 2001 that he would sit out the remainder of the season to tend to his health and that of his mother. As acting head coach in 2001, Hunsaker led the Utes to an 18–12 record. He took the head coaching position at Utah Valley State in 2002. His first season at Utah Valley State was the school's last year as a

junior college A junior college is a type of post-secondary institution that offers vocational and academic training that is designed to prepare students for either skilled trades and technical occupations or support roles in professions such as engineering, a ...

. Utah Valley joined Division I in 2009. Hunsaker is a

Latter Day Saint The Latter Day Saint movement (also called the LDS movement, LDS restorationist movement, or Smith–Rigdon movement) is the collection of independent church groups that trace their origins to a Christian Restorationist movement founded b ...

.Meridian Magazine :: Sports :The List

Playing career

Hunsaker enrolled at

UTEP The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) is a public research university in El Paso, Texas, United States. Founded in 1913 as the State School of Mines and Metallurgy, it is the third oldest academic component of the University of Texas Syste ...

in 1972. However, he transferred to Weber State after one year. He graduated from Weber State in 1977. He received a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

from BYU.

Head coaching record

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hunsaker, Dick 1954 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Ball State Cardinals men's basketball coaches Brigham Young University alumni Continental Basketball Association coaches Latter Day Saints from Indiana Latter Day Saints from Utah Manchester Spartans men's basketball coaches Utah Utes men's basketball coaches Utah Valley Wolverines men's basketball coaches UTEP Miners men's basketball players Weber State Wildcats men's basketball coaches Weber State Wildcats men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen