Tony Ingle ( – January 18, 2021) was 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 for the men's basketball team at

Dalton State College Dalton State College (DSC or Dalton State) is a public college in Dalton, Georgia, United States. It is part of the University System of Georgia. Founded in 1963 as a junior college, the college became a four-year institution in 1998. Dalton Sta ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Playing career

Born in

Dalton, Georgia Dalton is a city and the county seat of Whitfield County, Georgia, Whitfield County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is also the principal city of the Dalton metropolitan area, Dalton Metropolitan Statistical Area, which encomp ...

, Ingle was a star player at North Whitfield High School in Georgia. He played varsity all four seasons and earned MVP honors for the team in both his junior and senior years. In his final season (1971), he was named First Team All-Tri State Squad by the Chattanooga Free Press. His collegiate career began at Dalton Junior College. In each of his two years at the school, the Roadrunners won the state and regional championships for junior colleges. Ingle finished his playing career at

Huntingdon College Huntingdon College is a private Methodist college in Montgomery, Alabama. It was founded in 1854 as a women's college. History Huntingdon College was chartered on February 2, 1854, as " Tuskegee Female College" by the Alabama State Legislature a ...

Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...

Coaching career

Ingle's coaching career began before his playing career was over. He coached local youth teams during his time as a student at Huntingdon College. After graduating with a degree in

physical education Physical education is an academic subject taught in schools worldwide, encompassing Primary education, primary, Secondary education, secondary, and sometimes tertiary education. It is often referred to as Phys. Ed. or PE, and in the United Stat ...

, he returned to Georgia, where he coached at three different high schools. Ingle led Cherokee High School of Canton, Ga., to the state championship game in 1982, finishing runner-up. His college coaching career began at Gordon College in Barnesville, Georgia. He was tasked with restarting a basketball program that had been dormant for over a decade. Ingle built a winning program at Gordon; posting a record of 61–32 in three seasons at the school. In his final season, Ingle led the Hilltoppers to the

NJCAA The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing association of community college, State college (disambiguation), state college, and junior college athletics throughout the United States. Currently the NJCAA holds 24 sepa ...

Region XVII championship game. In 1988, he took the head coaching job at the

University of Alabama in Huntsville The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) is a public research university in Huntsville, Alabama, United States. The university is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and comprises eight colleges: arts, humanities ...

. The team posted a 10–18 record, but it was actually an improvement over the previous three seasons, when UAH won just 16 total games. Ingle entered the world of Division I college basketball in 1989, when he joined Roger Reid's staff at

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU) is a Private education, private research university in Provo, Utah, United States. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is the flagship university of the Church Educational System sponsore ...

Provo, Utah Provo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Utah County, Utah, United States. It is south of Salt Lake City along the Wasatch Front, and lies between the cities of Orem, Utah, Orem to the north and Springville, Utah, Springville to the south ...

. Ingle served as an assistant under Reid for seven seasons. During that time, BYU saw tremendous success on the basketball court: the Cougars won five WAC championships and made five appearances in the

NCAA 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. ...

Tournament. However, the program crashed early in the 1996–97 season. The team was decimated by injuries, and several key players left the school. After starting the season with a 1–6 record, Reid was fired, and Ingle took over as interim head coach. BYU didn't win another game the rest of the season, posting an 0–19 record under Ingle. In the off-season, BYU hired

Steve Cleveland :''Steve is a nickname for "Stephen". For the president, see Stephen Cleveland.'' Steven Cornell Cleveland (born February 4, 1952) is an American former college basketball coach. He had been men's head basketball head coach at Fresno City Coll ...

as the new head coach for the basketball team, leaving Ingle without a job. He found part-time work as a scout for the

Utah Jazz The Utah Jazz are an American professional basketball team based in Salt Lake City. The Jazz compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference. Since the 1991–92 season, the ...

of the

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 ...

, and also did some sports color commentary for the

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

. But he always wanted to return to coaching, and he found a great opportunity in 2000 when a friend from the coaching community alerted him about a coaching vacancy at

Kennesaw State University Kennesaw State University (KSU) is a public research university in the U.S. state of Georgia with two campuses in the Atlanta metropolitan area, one in the Kennesaw area and the other in Marietta on a combined of land. The school was founded ...

. Kennesaw's basketball team had struggled for many seasons, and Ingle was hired to turn the program around. He did just that, and very quickly. In 2002–03, the Owls set a school record by winning 25 games, and they made their first-ever appearance in the

NCAA Division II NCAA Division II (D-II) is the intermediate-level division of competition in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). It offers an alternative to both the larger and better-funded Division I and to the scholarship-free environment ...

national tournament. The following season was even better, as KSU captured the Division II national championship with Ingle leading the way. In 2005–06, the Owls transitioned to Division I basketball. The team joined the

Atlantic Sun Conference The Atlantic Sun Conference (ASUN) is a collegiate athletic conference operating mostly in the Southeastern United States. The league participates at the NCAA Division I level, and began sponsoring football at the Division I FCS level in 2022. ...

and struggled through several up-and-down seasons. Early in the 2010–11 season, the team achieved its biggest win ever as a Division I program, posting an 80–63 upset victory over

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology (commonly referred to as Georgia Tech, GT, and simply Tech or the Institute) is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Established in 1885, it has the lar ...

. However, KSU finished the year with a disappointing 8–23 record, and Ingle was fired. In addition to losing many games, the team had struggled to meet NCAA academic standards, which ultimately led to Ingle's dismissal. In 2013, Ingle was hired by Dalton State College, where he had played many years previous, to re-launch the basketball program after a 35-year hiatus. In 2014–15 – just the program's second season, and their first year of eligibility – the team captured the NAIA national championship. For his efforts, Ingle was honored as NAIA's Coach of the Year. He retired in August 2018.

Personal life and death

With his wife Jeanne, Ingle was a parent to five children including three sons who are also involved in college basketball. Ingle also had five grandchildren. Ingle was a member of

the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...

(LDS Church). In his childhood, Ingle endured five surgeries to repair a facial deformity. In 2009, he co-authored a book about his life entitled "I Don't Mind Hitting the Bottom, I Just Hate Dragging". Ingle died from complications of

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

at Utah Valley Hospital in Provo, on January 18, 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic in Utah Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. He was 68 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ingle, Tony 1952 births 2021 deaths Alabama–Huntsville Chargers men's basketball coaches American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state) Basketball players from Georgia (U.S. state) BYU Cougars men's basketball coaches College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in Utah Huntingdon Hawks basketball players Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Kennesaw State Owls men's basketball coaches Latter Day Saints from Georgia (U.S. state) People from Dalton, Georgia Utah Jazz scouts 20th-century American sportsmen