Don Meyer

Don Meyer

Biographical details
Born	(1944-12-16)December 16, 1944 Wayne, Nebraska, U.S.
Died	May 18, 2014(2014-05-18) (aged 69) Aberdeen, South Dakota, U.S.
Playing career
1967	Northern Colorado
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1968–1970	Western State (assistant)
1970–1972	Utah (assistant)
1972–1975	Hamline
1975–1999	Lipscomb
1999–2010	Northern State
Head coaching record
Overall	923–324
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
NAIA (1986)
Awards
Coach Wooden "Keys to Life" Award (2010) John Bunn Award (2010)

Donald Wayne Meyer (December 16, 1944 – May 18, 2014) was an American college basketball coach who completed his career in 2010 as head coach of the men's team at Northern State University. He was once head coach at Hamline University and Lipscomb University.

Early life

Meyer was born in 1944 in Wayne, Nebraska. Meyer graduated with a major in physical education from the University of Northern Colorado and excelled in baseball and basketball, being named an NCAA All-American in 1966 while playing in the 1966 NCAA College Division basketball tournament. He graduated in 1967.

College basketball coaching career

Meyer held the record for most wins by a men's basketball coach whose career included at least one stint with an NCAA member school, until it was surpassed by Duke University coach Mike Krzyzewski in November 2011. His career win total includes stints as a NAIA coach.

He is the subject of the book, Playing for Coach Meyer written by Steve Smiley, who played for Meyer as a point guard (1999–2004), and who served as an assistant coach from 2006 to 2008. Meyer is also the subject of a more extensive biography, How Lucky You Can Be: The Story of Coach Don Meyer, written by ESPN baseball analyst Buster Olney, who has had a close relationship with Meyer since Olney was assigned to cover baseball in Nashville while Meyer was coaching at Lipscomb.

Pat Summitt cites Meyer as a major influence on her development as a coach, noting in a 2009 interview:

He taught me how to teach others how to play the game. When I started coaching at Tennessee, I was 22 years old. I had four players that were seniors. And I never coached a day in my life. So did Coach Meyer help me? Tremendously.

He had 3 major rules:

1. Everybody takes notes.
2. Everybody says "please" and "thank you".
3. Everybody picks up trash.

Accident and cancer

Meyer had cancer that was discovered in his liver and intestines (bowels) during emergency surgery after a car crash on September 5, 2008. His lower left leg had to be amputated below the knee due to injuries from the car crash. During the surgery they found cancer and later operated on it.

Awards

At the ESPY Awards 2009, Meyer was awarded the Jimmy V (Jim Valvano) Award For Perseverance.

In February 2011, Coach Meyer was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame not only for his basketball coaching skills and records but was also recognized as an outstanding collegiate basketball and baseball athlete and administrator.

In 2012, Meyer was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame.

Retirement and death

On February 22, 2010, Northern State announced that Meyer would be retiring at the end of the 2009–10 season after 38 years of coaching. Later that year, on June 30, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Meyer was that year's recipient of the John Bunn Award, given by the Hall for significant contributions to the sport.

Casey Bond, a Lipscomb alum, produced the independent film about Meyer called My Many Sons, along with producing partner Brad Wilson. The film was produced on a budget of between $2 million and $5 million under Bond and Wilson's production company, Higher Purpose Entertainment, and was released in 2015, starring Judge Reinhold as Meyer. The filming took place in Nashville, Tennessee and Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Meyer died of complications from his cancer on May 18, 2014, aged 69, in Aberdeen, South Dakota.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
Hamline Pipers (Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) (1972–1975)
1972–73	Hamline	5–20
1973–74	Hamline	16–10
1974–75	Hamline	16–11			NCAA D–III Quarterfinals
Hamline:		37–41
Lipscomb Bisons (Volunteer State Athletic Conference) (1975–1985)
1975–76	Lipscomb	11–19
1976–77	Lipscomb	18–9
1977–78	Lipscomb	21–6
1978–79	Lipscomb	21–12
1979–80	Lipscomb	15–15
1980–81	Lipscomb	25–11
1981–82	Lipscomb	33–4			NAIA First Round
1982–83	Lipscomb	19–14
1983–84	Lipscomb	30–5
1984–85	Lipscomb	25–9			NAIA Second Round
Lipscomb Bisons (Tennessee Collegiate Athletic Conference) (1985–1996)
1985–86	Lipscomb	35–4			NAIA Champions
1986–87	Lipscomb	27–6
1987–88	Lipscomb	33–3			NAIA Second Round
1988–89	Lipscomb	38–2
1989–90	Lipscomb	41–5			NAIA Semifinals
1990–91	Lipscomb	35–4			NAIA Quarterfinals
1991–92	Lipscomb	31–5			NAIA Second Round
1992–93	Lipscomb	34–4			NAIA Quarterfinals
1993–94	Lipscomb	29–6			NAIA First Round
1994–95	Lipscomb	30–7			NAIA Second Round
1995–96	Lipscomb	33–6			NAIA Semifinals
Lipscomb Bisons (TranSouth Athletic Conference) (1996–1999)
1996–97	Lipscomb	30–6			NAIA First Round
1997–98	Lipscomb	26–8
1998–99	Lipscomb	25–9			NAIA First Round
Lipscomb:		665–179
Northern State Wolves (Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference) (1999–2010)
1999–00	Northern State	13–14	10–8	5th
2000–01	Northern State	14–13	10–8	5th
2001–02	Northern State	20–8	14–4	T–1st
2002–03	Northern State	20–9	15–3	1st
2003–04	Northern State	24–7	13–3	2nd	NCAA D–II First Round
2004–05	Northern State	21–10	9–5	3rd	NCAA D–II First Round
2005–06	Northern State	27–6	11–3	2nd	NCAA D–II Regional Final
2006–07	Northern State	21–8	13–5	T–3rd
2007–08	Northern State	29–4	16–2	2nd	NCAA D–II Regional Final
2008–09	Northern State	19–11	8–5	7th	NCAA D–II First Round
2009–10	Northern State	13–14	9–11	T–9th
Northern State:		221–104	128–59
Total:		923–324
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion

See also

• List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins