Edward S. Steitz (November 7, 1920 – May 21, 1990) 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 and official, working for the

National Collegiate Athletic Association The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(NCAA). He was considered the leading worldwide authority on amateur basketball rules.

Early life

Born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, Steitz was a lived in Beacon, New York. He was a graduate of

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

before earning master's and doctoral degrees at

Springfield College Springfield College is a private university in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. The institution's mission, called the Humanism, Humanics philosophy, calls for educating students in spirit, mind, and body for leadership in service ...

. After receiving his PhD, he started teaching at Springield in 1948.

Career

Coach and athletic director

Steitz became men's basketball coach at Springfield College from 1956 to 1966 and then became director of athletics from 1966 to 1990.

NCAA

He worked for the NCAA Men's Basketball Rules Committee as a secretary, editor and national interpreter from 1965 to 1990. He was involved in most of college basketball's major changes over the years, most notably the advent of the 45-second shot clock in 1986 and the introduction of the 3-point field goal in 1987. He was also a longtime member of the NCAA executive committee.

International basketball

In 1974 he founded and served as a president for Amateur Basketball Association of the United States of America (ABAUSA), now

USA Basketball USA Basketball (USAB) is a non-profit organization and the governing body for basketball in the United States. The organization represents the United States in FIBA, and the men's and women's national basketball teams in the United States ...

. He was a member of the Technical Commission of

FIBA The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French language, French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the Basketball equipment ...

. He was also a member of the United States Olympic Committee's executive committee.

Honors and awards

He was enshrined in the

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 pre ...

in 1984. In 2007, he was enshrined as a contributor in the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...

Edward S. Steitz Award

USA Basketball's Edward S. Steitz Award was created posthumously in 1991 to recognize an individual for her or his valuable contributions to international basketball.

References

External links

*
FIBA Hall of Fame page on Steitz
{{DEFAULTSORT:Steitz, Ed 1920 births 1990 deaths American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from New York (state) Cornell University alumni FIBA Hall of Fame inductees Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductees National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees People from Beacon, New York Sports coaches from Brooklyn Springfield College alumni Springfield Pride athletic directors Springfield Pride men's basketball coaches