Sport(s) Basketball Name Jim Snyder Overall 354–245 | 1949–1974 Ohio 193?–1941 Ohio Role Basketball team coach | |
Born June 29, 1919Canton, Ohio ( 1919-06-29 ) Died April 27, 1994, Palatine, Illinois, United States | ||
James E. Snyder (June 29, 1919 – April 27, 1994) was head coach of the Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team for 26 years (1949–1974). He amassed 20 winning seasons and led his teams to 7 NCAA Tournament appearances (1960, 1961, 1964, 1965, 1970, 1972, and 1974) and one National Invitation Tournament appearance (1969). Snyder's teams compiled a 355-255 record, good for a .581 winning percentage. He was also an Ohio graduate (Class of 1941), and was a football and basketball star as an undergraduate in the late 1930s and early 1940s. One of his most memorable wins came against the University of Kentucky in the 1964 NCAA tournament, advancing the Ohio Bobcats to the Elite 8. One interesting aspect of this game was that Ohio had an integrated team while Kentucky had one of its last all white teams. Snyder was widely admired throughout the college basketball coaching fraternity as being a coach with great integrity and an engaging personality; he was often referred to as "Gentleman Jim."