W. Victor Rouse (March 15, 1943May 31, 1999) was an American college

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 ...

player. He was an

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

Loyola University of Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a private Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic universities in the United States. Its namesa ...

and is best remembered for hitting the game-winning shot as time expired in the overtime period of the 1963 NCAA championship game. 1963 Loyola v Miss State - Vic Rouse shoots

1963 Loyola v Miss State - Vic Rouse shoots

Rouse, a 6'7" forward from Pearl High School in

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

, played college basketball for Loyola for coach

George Ireland George Ireland (June 15, 1913 – September 14, 2001) was an American basketball coach who led the Loyola Ramblers to the 1963 NCAA championship. Background Born in Madison, Wisconsin, Ireland was an All-American basketball player at the Uni ...

. He, along with high school teammate Les Hunter, joined the Ramblers and helped them become the first NCAA champion to feature four African-American starters in his junior year. Rouse anchored the middle, leading the team in rebounding as a sophomore (11.3 per game) and junior (12.1 per game). In the championship season of 1962–63, Rouse averaged 13.5 points. Rouse is best known for following Hunter's miss as time expired to defeat

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...

and spoil that school's bid to win a third straight NCAA title. The shot gave Loyola its first, and so far only, NCAA basketball championship. Rouse and the four other Loyola starters played the entire championship game, without substitution.2010-11 Loyola Ramblers men's basketball media guide
accessed November 7, 2011 In his senior year, Loyola returned four starters and had eyes on repeating as champions. Rouse upped his averages to 15.6 points and 12.5 rebounds per game. However, he dislocated his shoulder early in the season, hampering his effectiveness. Rouse was still named an honorable mention All-American at the close of the season. Rouse scored 1,169 points and grabbed 982 rebounds in his Loyola career. His #40 jersey was retired in 1993. Following the close of his college career, Rouse was drafted by the

Cincinnati Royals The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. The Kings are the ...

in the 1964 NBA draft (seventh round, 60th pick); however, he never played in the league. Instead, Rouse earned three master's degrees and a PhD. During his postgraduate academic study, he served as a student member of the

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

Board of Trustees from 1971 to 1974. He owned his own educational consulting firm and taught courses at the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

. On July 11, 2013, to observe the 50th anniversary of the national championship, President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...

welcomed surviving Loyola players Hunter, Jerry Harkness, John Egan and Ron Miller to the

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to honor the team. The entire squad was then inducted in November of that year by the

College Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the Nation ...

. He died on May 31, 1999, in

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at age 56.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rouse, Vic 1943 births 1999 deaths American men's basketball players Basketball players from Nashville, Tennessee Cincinnati Royals draft picks Loyola Ramblers men's basketball players Power forwards University of Maryland, College Park faculty 20th-century American sportsmen