# Ralph Underhill

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**Ralph W. Underhill** (August 8, 1941 – September 8, 2011) was an American [college basketball](/source/College_basketball) coach, known for leading the [Wright State Raiders men's basketball](/source/Wright_State_Raiders_men's_basketball) team for 18 seasons.[1]

## Education

Underhill graduated from Lloyd High School in [Erlanger, Kentucky](/source/Erlanger,_Kentucky), where he lettered four times each in basketball, football, track, and baseball. He then played collegiate basketball and ran track for [Tennessee Tech](/source/Tennessee_Tech_Golden_Eagles_men's_basketball). As a junior, he was a member of the team that won the [Ohio Valley Conference](/source/Ohio_Valley_Conference) championship.

He received a Bachelor of Science degree in health and physical education from Tennessee Tech in 1964 and earned a Master of Arts degree in guidance and education in 1965 from [Western Kentucky University](/source/Western_Kentucky_University), where he worked as a graduate assistant basketball coach.[2]

## Coaching career

### Early years

Underhill was the head coach at Ohio County High School in [Hartford, Kentucky](/source/Hartford,_Kentucky) and at Louisville Manual High School. His first collegiate coaching job was as an assistant coach under [Ron Shumate](/source/Ron_Shumate) at the [University of Tennessee at Chattanooga](/source/University_of_Tennessee_at_Chattanooga).[2]

### Wright State

Underhill was the most successful coach in Wright State history, with a career total of 356 wins, including leading the team to an [NCAA Division II National Championship](/source/NCAA_Division_II_men's_basketball_tournament) in the [1982–83 season](/source/1982%E2%80%9383_Wright_State_Raiders_men's_basketball_team).

Hired as head coach for the 1978–79 season, Underhill led the Raiders for 18 seasons. Including the national championship, his squads earned a total of seven Division II regional appearances before taking Wright State up to the Division I level in 1987–88.

He was recognized with three Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year awards and one Division II Coach of the Year award. Known for being a strong recruiter, Underhill had several All-Americans at Wright State: Roman Welch (1980), Rodney Benson (1981) Gary Monroe (1983), Fred Moore (1984), Mark Vest (1985 and 1986), Grant Marion (1986) and Andy Warner (1986), and one player selected in the [NBA draft](/source/NBA_draft) ([Vitaly Potapenko](/source/Vitaly_Potapenko), 1996).

His [1993 team](/source/1992%E2%80%9393_Wright_State_Raiders_men's_basketball_team), led by star Bill Edwards, won the [Mid-Continent Conference](/source/Mid-Continent_Conference) Tournament title against the [University of Illinois at Chicago](/source/University_of_Illinois_at_Chicago) and advanced to the [NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament](/source/NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_tournament) as a 16-seed matched against [Bobby Knight](/source/Bobby_Knight) and the 1-seed [Indiana Hoosiers](/source/Indiana_Hoosiers). That year's IU team included [Calbert Cheaney](/source/Calbert_Cheaney) and Knight's son [Pat Knight](/source/Pat_Knight).[2]

## Yearly records

[3][2]

## Halls of Fame

- Mary and Al Schwarz Wright State Athletic Hall of Fame in 2003
- Cincinnati Area Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997[2]

## References

1. ["Raiders basketball: Rise to prominence"](http://www.xeniagazette.com/sports/23980/raiders-basketball-rise-to-prominence). Xenia Gazette. 2015-04-02. Retrieved 2018-01-13.

1. ["WSU Coaching Great Passes Away"](http://wsuraiders.com/news/2011/9/8/205268183.aspx?path=mbball). Wright State Athletics. 2011-09-08. Retrieved 2018-01-13.

1. ["Wright State Men's Basketball Media Guide"](http://www.wsuraiders.com/documents/2017/10/9/2017_18_Wright_State_Men_s_Basketball_Media_Guide.pdf). Wright State Athletics. 2017. Retrieved 2018-01-13.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ralph Underhill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Underhill) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Underhill?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.