(Photo By Flickr User Rob Buenaventura)

Former Alcorn State basketball coach Davey Whitney has died.

According to cbssports.com, the school and the Southwestern Athletic Conference confirmed Whitney’s death at his home in Biloxi, MS on Sunday (May 10th). No cause of death was given.

Whitney, a native of Lexington, KY served as the Head Men’s Basketball Coach of Texas Southern from 1964-1969 and spent nearly three decades at Alcorn State over two stints from 1969-1989 and again from 1996-2003.

Whitney won 12 SWAC championships and led the Braves to a win over South Alabama in the first round of the 1980 NCAA tournament, which was the first tournament win for a historically black university. Alcorn State also beat Mississippi State in the 1979 National Invitation Tournament. he had an all-time collegiate career record of 566-356.

Whitney was induced into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010. He was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1991.

Alcorn State President Alfred Rankins Jr. said,

“The Alcorn family will always remember Coach Whitney as an innovative coach who cared deeply for his players. He was a mentor and father figure to his players. He really expressed the importance of winning at life and being of good character, not just games won or lost. His legacy will always be a part of Alcorn State University and will continue to inspire generations of Alcornites.”

He leaves behind a wife of 62 years, Bernice, five children: Gail, Libby, Lisa, Doreen, and Davey, Jr., and four grand-children Ashantee, Aubrei, Corey, and Duonne.

Basketball coaching legend, Davey “The Wiz” Whitney, dead at the age of 85.