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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, This year, Coach Harry Statham entered his 39th
3 year as the men's basketball coach and athletic director at his
4 alma mater, McKendree College; and
 
5     WHEREAS, Last year, the Bearcat men's basketball team had
6 another 20-win season, with a record of 24 wins and 10 losses,
7 and advanced to the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National
8 Championship for the fifth consecutive year; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Coach Statham began this season as the active wins
10 leader at the four-year college level; during his first 38
11 years, he amassed 871 victories, placing him third on the
12 all-time list; only Dean Smith with 879 wins and Adolph Rupp
13 with 876 wins were ahead of Statham; and
 
14     WHEREAS, In 2002-03, Coach Statham led the Bearcats to
15 perhaps the most memorable season in school history; McKendree
16 compiled a record of 34 wins and 4 losses, with no losses in
17 American Midwest Conference (AMC) play for the first time; at
18 the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball National Championship,
19 McKendree posted three victories on its way to a berth in the
20 NAIA Fab Four for the first time in team history; and
 
21     WHEREAS, On November 15, 2003, in Lebanon, by guiding the
22 Bearcats to an 88-87 victory against Mountain State University,
23 Coach Statham became the NAIA's all-time leader in career
24 victories with 817 wins; and
 
25     WHEREAS, In addition to the on-the-court milestones, Coach
26 Statham was recognized as the 2001-02 NAIA Men's Basketball
27 Coach of the Year; he is also an 11-time recipient of the
28 NAIA-Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Men's Basketball
29 Coach of the Year; in 1987 he was inducted into the IBCA-NAIA
30 Hall of Fame, and in 1998, he was inducted into the NAIA Hall

 

 

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1 of Fame; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Under Coach Statham's leadership, the Bearcats
3 have appeared in post-season play 33 times in 38 years;
4 McKendree has reached the NAIA Division I Men's Basketball
5 National Championship 10 times over the last 16 years; in each
6 of the last 15 seasons, McKendree has recorded at least 20
7 wins; the Bearcats have averaged 27 wins a year in that span;
8 McKendree ranks sixth among all NAIA schools in winning
9 percentage over the last decade and is in the top 15 over the
10 last five seasons; in all, McKendree has notched 20 or more
11 wins 29 times under his tutelage; and
 
12     WHEREAS, Coach Statham began his coaching career while an
13 undergraduate at McKendree College, by guiding the boy's
14 basketball team at O'Fallon Junior High School while taking
15 college courses at night; he was a graduate assistant for the
16 men's basketball and track teams at the University of Illinois
17 at Champaign while completing requirements for a master's of
18 science degree in physical education; he coached at the high
19 school level prior to returning to McKendree College, where he
20 also served as the Bearcats' baseball coach for two seasons;
21 and
 
22     WHEREAS, On Wednesday, December 1, 2004, in a match with
23 Maryville University, Coach Statham achieved his 880th win,
24 moving him into first place on the all-time victories list
25 among coaches at a four-year college or university; therefore,
26 be it
 
27     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
28 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
29 congratulate Coach Harry Statham on his 880th win as head
30 basketball coach at McKendree College, making him the
31 winningest basketball coach at a four-year college or
32 university; and be it further
 

 

 

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1     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
2 presented to Coach Statham as a token of our respect and esteem
3 and with best wishes for his continued success.