Herb Kenny, the winningest coach in the history of Wesleyan men's basketball, passed away on Saturday, July 9. A fixture within the athletics department at Wesleyan for 30 years, he served as the head coach of the Cardinals for 27 seasons (1968-95) and was an assistant on the football coaching staff for 15 years and the head golf coach for 23 years. Kenny was inducted into the Wesleyan Hall of Fame in 2018 as well as the Middletown Sports Hall of Fame in 2017.
 
A longtime native of nearby Meriden before moving to Pittsburgh a decade ago, Kenny amassed a 312-280 career win-loss record at Wesleyan. He won or tied for the Little Three title eight times while his teams qualified for six ECAC Tournaments, reaching the semifinals three times and the title game once (1977). His Cardinal squads also won the Schoenfeld Sportsmanship Award (the highest honor of the Collegiate Basketball Officials Association) five times during his tenure.
 
"You always knew where you stood with Herb and what it would take to beat the other team," said former player and Wesleyan Hall of Famer Jim Akin '72. "'No way in America this team stays on the floor with you guys' was how he'd put it. And playing as a team he would tell us, was the only way we were ever going to beat the good ones. In the days before the NESCAC and NCAA Div. III, Herb had us competing against and defeating schools that today play a D-I schedule. He kept us focused, pushed us hard and made sure we had fun doing it. I loved playing for the guy."
 
Over his career, Kenny developed a reputation as one of the nation's most-influential ambassadors for basketball and in 1992, he became the first Division III coach to be named President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). His other leadership positions included chair of the NABC Div. III Rules Committee, member of the NABC board, third VP of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame and Director of USA Basketball.
 
"Coach Kenny impacted so many lives during his coaching career," said current Wesleyan men's basketball head coach Joe Reilly. "He was a highly respected ambassador of the game of basketball at a national level. Since my arrival at Wesleyan he was a mentor and a friend – it was fun to have him so connected to the Cardinal basketball program in his retirement years."
 
In 1977, following a 17-6 season, Kenny was named the NCAA Div. III Coach of the Year. In 1982, Kenny received the Alvin "Doggie" Julian Award for service to New England college basketball and in 1992, Kenny was awarded a Gold Key by the Connecticut Sports Writers Alliance. Late in Kenny's coaching career, he served as an assistant coach at the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival and for the 1991 U.S. team that won a gold medal in England at the World University Games.
 
To honor his career, the Wesleyan men's basketball program established the annual Herb Kenny Tip-Off Tournament. The long-running tournament was first established in his name in 2012-13.
 
Prior to his coaching career, Kenny was a three-sport star (football, basketball, baseball) at Meriden High School, captaining the football team as a senior and lettering in all three sports for three seasons.
 
Kenny went on to letter in the same three sports – football, basketball, baseball – at St. Bonaventure where he graduated in 1955. He was a Physical Education teacher and coached football, basketball and baseball at Platt High School in Meriden.
 
He earned a Master's degree in Physical Education from UConn in 1964 before joining the Wesleyan faculty as a Physical Education professor and assistant basketball coach.
 
Kenny's diverse career saw him serve as an officer and company commander in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1955-65.
 
A viewing service will be held on Sunday, July 17 from 2-6 PM at the JJ Ferry Funeral Home in Meriden. A funeral mass is scheduled for Monday, July 18 at 10 AM at the St. Joseph Church in Meriden.

Donations can be made in Herb's name to the Wesleyan men's basketball endowment fund, click here to donate.