Ralph W. Underhill (August 8, 1941 – September 8, 2011) was an American college basketball coach, known for leading the

Wright State Raiders men's basketball The Wright State Raiders men's basketball is the men's college basketball team that represents Wright State University in Fairborn, Ohio. The school's team currently competes in the Horizon League at the NCAA Division I level. The Raiders won t ...

team for 18 seasons.

Education

Underhill graduated from Lloyd High School in

Erlanger, Kentucky Erlanger is a List of cities in Kentucky, home rule-class city in Kenton County, Kentucky, Kenton County, Kentucky, United States. It had a 2020 United States census, 2020 census population of 19,611. Erlanger is part of the Cincinnati metropoli ...

, where he lettered four times each in basketball, football, track, and baseball. He then played collegiate basketball and ran track for

Tennessee Tech Tennessee Technological University (commonly referred to as Tennessee Tech) is a public research university in Cookeville, Tennessee. It was formerly known as Tennessee Polytechnic Institute, and before that as University of Dixie, the name unde ...

. As a junior, he was a member of the team that won the

Ohio Valley Conference The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in partnership with ...

championship. He received a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education from Tennessee Tech in 1964 and earned a Master of Arts degree in guidance and education in 1965 from

Western Kentucky University Western Kentucky University (WKU) is a public university in Bowling Green, Kentucky, United States. It was founded by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1906, though its roots reach back a few decades earlier. It operates regional campuses in Glas ...

, where he worked as a graduate assistant basketball coach.

Coaching career

Early years

Underhill was the head coach at Ohio County High School in

Hartford, Kentucky Hartford is a home rule-class city in Ohio County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 2,668 at the 2020 census. The town slogan, "Home of 2,000 happy people and a few soreheads", welcomes visitors ...

and at Louisville Manual High School. His first collegiate coaching job was as an assistant coach under Ron Shumate at the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System. History UTC was founde ...

Wright State

Underhill was the most successful coach in Wright State history, with a career total of 356 wins, including leading the team to an NCAA Division II National Championship in the 1982–83 season. Hired as head coach for the 1978–79 season, Underhill led the Raiders for 18 seasons. Including the national championship, his squads earned a total of seven Division II regional appearances before taking Wright State up to the Division I level in 1987–88. He was recognized with three Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year awards and one Division II Coach of the Year award. Known for being a strong recruiter, Underhill had several All-Americans at Wright State: Roman Welch (1980), Rodney Benson (1981) Gary Monroe (1983), Fred Moore (1984), Mark Vest (1985 and 1986), Grant Marion (1986) and Andy Warner (1986), and one player selected in the

NBA draft The NBA draft is the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual event, dating back to 1947 BAA draft, 1947, in which the teams in the league can Draft (sports), draft players who declare for the draft and that are Eligibility for the NBA dr ...

(

Vitaly Potapenko Vitalii Mykolayovych Potapenko ( , ; born March 21, 1975) is a Ukrainian professional basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketbal ...

, 1996). His 1993 team, led by star Bill Edwards, won the

Mid-Continent Conference The Summit League, or The Summit, is an NCAA Division I intercollegiate athletic conference with its membership mostly located in the Midwestern United States, from Minnesota in the east, to the Dakotas, Nebraska and Colorado to the West, and Mis ...

Tournament title against the

University of Illinois at Chicago The University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) is a public research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its campus is in the Near West Side community area, adjacent to the Chicago Loop. The second campus established under the Universi ...

and advanced to the

NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament The NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, branded as March Madness, or The Big Dance, is a single-elimination tournament played in the United States to determine the men's college basketball national champion of the NCAA Division I, Di ...

as a 16-seed matched against

Bobby Knight Robert Montgomery Knight (October 25, 1940 – November 1, 2023) was an American men's college basketball coach. Nicknamed "the General", he won 902 NCAA Division I men's basketball games, a record at the time of his retirement and sixth all- ...

and the 1-seed

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the demonym for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the National Coll ...

. That year's IU team included

Calbert Cheaney Calbert Nathaniel Cheaney (born July 17, 1971) is an American basketball coach and former player who serves as Director of player development for the Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball of the Big Ten. He starred as a player for the Indiana Hoosie ...

and Knight's son

Pat Knight Patrick Clair Knight (born September 21, 1970) is an American basketball coach. It was announced he had been hired as the men's coach at Marian University in Indianapolis on May 8, 2024. Prior to that he was a scout for the Indiana Pacers of t ...

Yearly records

Halls of Fame

*Mary and Al Schwarz Wright State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003 *Cincinnati Area Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Underhill, Ralph 1941 births 2011 deaths American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Kentucky Basketball players from Kentucky Chattanooga Mocs baseball coaches Chattanooga Mocs men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in the United States People from Kenton County, Kentucky Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's basketball players Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles men's track and field athletes Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball coaches Western Kentucky University alumni Wright State Raiders men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen