Ernest "E.W." Foy (February 6, 1937 – June 7, 2014) was an American college and high school basketball coach.

Biography

Born in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, and raised in

Osyka, Mississippi Osyka is a town in Pike County, Mississippi, Pike County, Mississippi, United States. It is located on the Mississippi–Louisiana state line. The population was 440 at the 2010 census. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi McComb micropolitan are ...

, Foy graduated from Osyka High School in 1955, graduated

Southwest Mississippi Community College Southwest Mississippi Community College is a public community college in unincorporated Pike County, Mississippi, in Summit, MS The college's district includes Pike, Amite, Walthall, and Wilkinson counties. History The college was officia ...

in 1957, and attended

William Carey University William Carey University (Carey, William Carey, or WCU) is a private Christian university in Mississippi, United States. The institution is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention and the Mississippi Baptist Convention. The main campus ...

on a basketball scholarship, obtaining a BS degree in math with a minor in health and physical education. He later earned a Master of Science degree from

LSU Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

in 1969. Foy's first teaching and coaching position was at Baton Rouge Junior High School from 1959 until 1962. In September 1962, he became head coach, going on to lead an undefeated basketball team to the 1968 State 4-A Championship. He was named Coach of the Year. In 1969, he became head coach at

Southeastern Louisiana University Southeastern Louisiana University (Southeastern) is a public university in Hammond, Louisiana. It was founded in 1925 by Linus A. Sims as Hammond Junior College. Sims succeeded in getting the campus moved to north Hammond in 1928, when it beca ...

. In the 1972–1973 season, he led the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the tip of its tail. It is se ...

to its first conference title in the school history and was named

Gulf South Conference The Gulf South Conference (GSC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level, which operates in the Southeastern United States. History Originally known as the ...

Coach of the Year. From 1974 until 1977, he served as head coach at

McNeese State University McNeese State University is a public university in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Founded in 1939 as Lake Charles Junior College, it was renamed McNeese Junior College after John McNeese, an early local educator. The present name was adopted in 1970. M ...

, guiding the

Cowboys A cowboy is a professional pastoralist or mounted livestock herder, usually from the Americas or Australia. Cowboy(s) or The Cowboy(s) may also refer to: Film and television * ''Cowboy'' (1958 film), starring Glenn Ford * ''Cowboy'' (1966 film), ...

to its first

Southland Conference The Southland Conference (SLC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the South Central United States (specifically Texas and Louisiana). It participates in the NCAA's Division I for all sports; for football, it participates in ...

Championship. He was also named Coach of the Year. In 1977, he moved to

McComb, Mississippi McComb is a city in Pike County, Mississippi, United States. The city is approximately south of Jackson. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 12,790. It is the principal city of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statis ...

to own and operate the Western Auto Associate Store. In 2000, he became the head coach of the boys' basketball team at

Parklane Academy Parklane Academy is a private K-12 Protestant school located in McComb, Mississippi. It was founded in 1970 as a segregation academy. Parklane Academy is a member of the Mississippi Association of Independent Schools (MAIS). As of 2023, the ...

, which went to the state play-offs for the first time in ten years. In 2012, he ended his coaching career at the Amite School Center in

Liberty, Mississippi Liberty is a town in Amite County, Mississippi. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi McComb micropolitan area, micropolitan statistical area. It is the county seat of Amite County. The town can be accessed via Interstate 55 in Mississippi, I-55 ...

Awards

* SMJC Sports Hall of Fame (1980) * Mississippi Association of Community College Sports Hall of Fame (2012) * William Carey University Sports Hall of Fame (2012)

Death

On June 7, 2014, Foy died in

Summit, Mississippi Summit is a town in Pike County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,705 at the 2010 census. It is part of the McComb, Mississippi Micropolitan Statistical Area. The town originated as a railroad town and was named Summit because it ...

, at the age of 77. He was survived by Betty Jane Beregi Foy, his wife of 57 years, and their three children.

References

External links

Obituary

at

Sports Reference Sports Reference, LLC is an American sports statistics company that operates databases of several sports. They include Pro Football Reference for American football, Baseball Reference for baseball, Basketball Reference for basketball, Hockey ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Foy, E. W. 1937 births 2014 deaths Basketball coaches from Louisiana Basketball players from New Orleans College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Louisiana State University alumni McNeese Cowboys basketball coaches Southeastern Louisiana Lions basketball coaches Southwest Mississippi Community College alumni Sports coaches from New Orleans People from McComb, Mississippi American men's basketball players 20th-century American sportsmen