It
was three years ago this week that we lost one of the
great people to ever coach to this game. His name is
synonymous with March Madness.
The greatest compliment you can pay can pay someone in
this profession is to simply call him “coach.” Admiration,
success and the respect of one’s peers are what earn a man
the simple title of “coach.” Coach Ray Meyer had all of
those things and more.
The passing of the legendary DePaul coach was somewhat
lost in the midst of first and second round action of the
2006 NCAA tournament. Ironically that is probably how
coach would have preferred it. He devoted much of his life
to the game he loved, never seeking the spotlight but the
spotlight most certainly found him.
For more then four decades he brought class and dignity to
the sidelines at DePaul University. Twice he took teams to
the Final Four and seven times he guided teams to the
National Invitational Tournament, including a team that
featured George Mikan. At a time when the NIT was college
basketball’s crowning jewel, Mikan helped coach win the
1945 NIT and the national championship.
Thirty-seven winning seasons and 724 career wins would
seem unapproachable to a young man breaking into the
profession today. But among his most remarkable
achievements was that his second appearance in the Final
Four, in 1979, came thirty-six years after his first trip,
in 1943.
It was only appropriate that he was inducted into the
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame that same year.
Equally as impressive as his staying power was his ability
to take something pretty good and make it really great. So
many of his teams began the season without expectations,
but by season’s end he taken the average and turned it
into a winner. And he did that year after year.
But it wasn’t only basketball teams that coach would touch
in a positive way. Always approachable, coach wore a smile
like it was his purpose. And in many ways it was. He
always made every person feel like they were special. That
was his way.
Through the years countless numbers would cross paths with
the legendary coach and they were the better for it. But
it was coach who believed he was in fact a better person
for having known you. He truly loved and admired people.
As visible as he was over the last twenty-plus years, it’s
hard to believe that coach actually retired following the
1984 season. His career might have concluded in an
official capacity, but he really never put down the
whistle.
He would remain a fixture at the University that he alone
made a household name. For thirteen years he served as a
Special Assistant to the President, with a focus on
special projects. He would also provide color commentary
for DePaul basketball games on the radio until 1997. Even
then he was never more then a mid-range jumper away from
the game and the program that he loved so much.
In December of 2003, the playing surface at the
University’s arena was officially named “Ray and Marge
Meyer Court,” in honor of coach and his late wife. And his
legacy will continue.
Quite simply, he was and will always be DePaul University.
News of his passing may have been somewhat lost in all the
excitement of the NCAA tournament, but those that knew
would agree that he would have had it no other way.
A true coaches coach, it was never about him. It was
always about the players. Therefore it was only fitting
that his passing came during one of the most exciting and
entertaining first weekends that the NCAA tournament has
ever seen.
It
was three years ago this week that we lost one of the
great people to ever coach to this game. His name is
synonymous with March Madness. 
