(UK Athletics Photo)
Former University of Kentucky head coach Eddie Sutton died Saturday in Tulsa, Oklahoma at the age of 84. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported Sutton was in hospice care.
Sutton is one of 10 Division I coaches to win 800 games in his career. He took four schools – Kentucky, Arkansas, Creighton, and Oklahoma State – to the NCAA Tournament. He made the Final Four three times.
Sutton is scheduled to be inducted August 29 into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame along with the late Kobe Bryant, Kevin Garnett, Tim Duncan, Tamika Catchings, Baylor women’s coach Kim Mulkey, Division II coach Barbara Stevens, and former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich.
Sutton won 82 games at Creighton from 1969-74. He coached 11 seasons at Arkansas and won 260. He led the Razorbacks to the 1978 Final Four that saw Kentucky beat Duke for the national title.
Sutton took over as Kentucky coach in 1985 following the retirement of Joe B. Hall. His first UK team went 32-4 and advanced to the NCAA Elite Eight where they were upset by LSU.
After Kentucky’s 18-11 season in 1986-87, sophomore Rex Chapman left for the NBA. Kentucky went 25-5 in 1987-88 and lost to Villanova in the NCAA Tournament.
Sutton resigned following the 1988-89 season after Kentucky endured a 13-19 season – the school’s first losing season since 1927. A subsequent NCAA investigation alleged a player cheated on his entrance exam and another recruit received $1,000 in cash. It was alleged that assistant coach Dwane Casey sent the money to Chris Mills, but Casey denied the allegation and won a defamation lawsuit against Emery Air Freight.
The scandal on Sutton’s watch led to both he and Athletic Director Cliff Hagan resigning.
Sutton landed on his feet at Oklahoma State where he coached 16 seasons and won 368 games, advancing to the Final Four in 1995 and 2004.
