Former UW Hoops Coach Tippy Dye Passes Away
April 12, 2012
William Howard "Tippy" Dye, the only basketball coach to lead Washington to the NCAA Final Four, passed away on Wednesday at the age of 97.
Dye was the 10th basketball coach in Washington history and compiled a 156-91 (.632) record in nine season (1951-59) as the Huskies' head coach, including a 77-15 record in his first three years. His win total is fourth in school history, trailing only Hec Edmundson (488-195), Marv Harshman (246-146) and Lorenzo Romar (219-113).
Born in Harrisonville, Ohio, Dye graduated from Ohio State after lettering three years in basketball, football and baseball. He quarterbacked the Buckeyes to one conference title and two second-place finishes.
He coached Brown University to a 14-7 record in 1940 before serving three years in the Navy during World War II. He coached football with the Navy, including a team that included NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Otto Graham.
After the war, Dye returned to Ohio State as an assistant football coach and the head basketball coach. He guided the Buckeyes to a 53-34 record from 1947-50, including a 22-4 mark and conference crown in 1950. That 1950 squad played in the NCAA Tournament, losing 56-55 to eventual champion CCNY in the round of 16.
Dye arrived at Washington in 1951 and made an immediate impact. He led the Huskies to a 24-6 record and 11-5 in the North Division of the Pacific Coast Conference. Washington would beat UCLA twice in the Pacific Coast Conference playoffs and advance to the NCAA Championships, where they beat Texas A&M before losing to Oklahoma State.
In 1952, Dye led UW to a 25-6 record and first place in the North Division. The Huskies would drop two-of-three games to UCLA in the Pacific Coast Conference playoffs and fail to make it to the NCAA's. That year did set up the Huskies for their best season in team history.
The 1953 squad, led by All-American Bob Houbregs, went 28-3 overall and 15-1 in conference action. Dye guided the Huskies to the NCAA's where they won a pair of regional games vs. Seattle University and Santa Clara to advance to the only Final Four appearance in team history. The Huskies lost 79-53 to Kansas but would bounce back to beat Louisiana State 88-69 in the third-place consolation game.
Dye is credited with teaching Houbregs his famous hook shot which historians have called the greatest of all-time.
Dye would leave Washington after the 1959 season to become the athletic director at the University of Wichita. He was enshrined in the Husky Hall of Fame in 1996.
According to the Seattle Times, Dye is survived by his daughter Stephanie 'Penny' Carnegie; son William HH Type Dye III; son-in-law Roger Carnegie; four grand daughters Mary Haase, Laura Carnegie, Mary Dye, Jody LaLoup and four great grandsons Ryan Haase, Braydon and Parker LaLoup and Daniel Finnie.
