A coach for life

Known for both his fiery spirit and his patience, William “Bill” Sudeck was proud of something more. He once surmised he had coached more future engineers, scientists and doctors than any coach anywhere. That’s the result of coaching for 46 years at Case Institute of Technology and Case Western Reserve University — schools where one of his first questions to a recruit had to be, “How did you do on your SATs?”

His win-loss record reflected the challenges of coaching at an academic powerhouse. As basketball coach, Sudeck had an overall losing record of 329-482 in 37 years. That includes going 49-88 in eight years at Case Institute of Technology.

Still, the man known simply as “coach” to generations of Caseys attained an astonishing record of success. Before his death from  cancer in 2000 at age 74, he coached Case teams to more than 300 basketball victories and more than 600 combined wins in basketball, cross country and track. In 1993-94 he was named NCAA Coach of the Year in all three sports. He’s credited with coaching and mentoring more than 30 All Americans.

Plus, coach always counted wins beyond the games.

“It’s no fun to lose, and you get losses,” Sudeck said in a 1991 interview with CWRU Magazine. “But what keeps you going are the high-class athletes you’re associating with…. In thirty seven years, I’ve only coached five students who didn’t graduate. That’s a pretty good record.”

The Bill Sudeck Outstanding Student-Athlete Award is considered one of the highest honors in CWRU athletics.