Robert (Bob) Erickson, originally from Wakefield , Neb. , was not only a star athlete at Doane, but was also successful as the men's basketball coach from 1962-98. On Sunday, Erickson, one of the most recognizable names in Doane College athletics, passed away at the age of 79.

As a student at Doane, Erickson played football and basketball. He graduated from Doane in 1957 and served four years in the Air Force.

He returned to Doane in 1962 and took over the men's basketball program while serving as an assistant football coach. The Tiger basketball team picked up their first winning season under Erickson in his third year as coach and the team finished the 1964-65 season with a 16-9 record. The winning season marked the first of 13 consecutive winning seasons for Erickson, which included three 20-plus win seasons and two NAIA National Tournament berths.

In 1975-76, the Tigers finished with a 21-9 record and upset No. 12 seeded Norfolk State University ( Va. ), 80-79, in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament. He continued to produce successful teams that played some of the toughest competition, the likes of the University of Southern California (USC), University of Oregon and the Air Force Academy until the early 1980s.

LA GRANDE, Ore. (EOU) - Rob Cashell, director of athletics at Eastern Oregon University, has announced the hiring of Isaac Williams as the new head men's basketball coach. Williams replaces Ryan Looney who accepted the head coaching position at Seattle Pacific University last week.

Williams, an EOU graduate and former player for the Mountaineers, has been the assistant coach for the past five seasons along with the duties of sports information and marketing. During that time the Mountaineers have enjoyed the most success in the basketball program's history. Williams has been a part of a team that has been a combined 95-55 and won back-to-back Cascade Conference Championships. In addition the last two years the Mountaineers have advanced to the sweet 16 and also to the elite eight at the NAIA national tournament.

SEATTLE – Ryan Looney, who led Eastern Oregon University to the quarterfinals of the 2009 NAIA Division II Tournament, was hired as the men's basketball coach at Seattle Pacific University, athletic director Erin O'Connell announced Tuesday.

Looney, 33, compiled a 95-55 record in five seasons with Eastern Oregon. His Mountaineers won 63.3 percent of their games, the best winning percentage among all-time EOU coaches.

"We're extremely excited to open this new chapter and welcome Ryan to our campus community and our athletic department team," O'Connell said. "Under his five years of leadership at Eastern Oregon University, Ryan's teams displayed great success in the classroom and on the court. Our men's basketball program is no stranger to these characteristics and we look to Ryan to lead our team to push that envelope even further."

Fifth year coach leads Wesleyan to school record 27 wins, first ever National Tourney berth