George Raveling, Hall of Fame coach and Nike executive, dies at 88
George Raveling, a trailblazing college basketball coach and longtime Nike executive who helped bring Michael Jordan to the brand, has died at the age of 88 after a battle with cancer, his family announced Tuesday.
Raveling, who was surrounded by family at the time of his passing, was remembered as a mentor, leader, and inspiration. “He will be profoundly missed, yet his aura, energy, divine presence, and timeless wisdom live on in all those he touched and transformed,” his family said in a statement, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
A standout player at Villanova from 1957 to 1960, Raveling began his coaching career there before leading programs at Washington State, Iowa, and USC. He retired in 1994 with three Pac-10 Coach of the Year awards and was later inducted into both the College Basketball Hall of Fame (2013) and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (2015).
Raveling also served as an assistant coach for Team USA during the 1984 Olympics. Off the court, he became Nike’s global basketball sports marketing director, playing a pivotal role in persuading Michael Jordan to sign with the company.
Beyond sports, Raveling made history in 1963 as a volunteer security guard at Martin Luther King Jr.’s March on Washington. After asking King for his copy of the “I Have a Dream” speech, Raveling safeguarded the historic document for decades before donating it to Villanova University. It is now housed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
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