Men's Basketball

 

Bankson leaves as one of the best men’s basketball coaches at the NCAA Division III level and as the third winningest men's basketball coach in Ohio Athletic Conference history. Bankson also will step down as Athletic Director on June 30, 2008.

 

As he heads toward retirement, Bankson is most proud of the success both the total athletics program, and in particular the men's basketball program, have made.

 

“All of our sports are treated fairly,” stated Bankson who is in his 37th year overall as an athletic director. “To the student-athletes, coaches and support staff of a particular sport, their activity is of major importance.”

 

In basketball, Bankson has a career record of 701-442 in 44 seasons, including 28 years at B-W, 12 at Lorain (Ohio) County Community College, and four at the high school level in Indiana and Michigan.

 

At B-W, Bankson ends his career with a 420-328 record. He is the winningest men’s basketball coach in Yellow Jacket history.                   

 

On April 1, 2007, Coach Bankson received the Guardian Award for Leadership at the NABC (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Awards dinner in conjuction with the NCAA Division I Final Four in Atlanta, Georgia. The Guardian Award is one of four given annually to coaches from high school through Division I. He also received a plaque for his 400 victories at B-W.

 

In 2005-2006, Bankson’s Yellow Jackets compiled a 25-5 record, marking both the most wins and fewest losses for any Yellow Jacket team. It also was the first time a

B-W men’s team won both the OAC regular and OAC Tournament titles in the same year.  Four times in the last 11 years, the Yellow Jackets have won an OAC tournament title and five times have played in the NCAA Division III National Tournament.  In 1994-95, B-W advanced to the “Sweet 16” and eight years ago hosted an NCAA Tournament Game.

 

A professor in the Division of Health and Physical Education, Bankson has always been a firm believer in the NCAA Division III philosophy of the student-athlete and the place of athletics in the academic experience for all students.  To date at B-W, 85 individuals have played four years in the program and 83 have received their degrees. Also, 17 of the 34 members of the 1,000-Point Club have played under Bankson's watchful eye.

 

“A student-athlete comes to Baldwin-Wallace College first for its academics and second for athletics,” stated Bankson.

 

Bankson graduated from Graceland University (Lamoni, Iowa) in 1963 where he was awarded the Silver Seal for his contributions to the athletic department.  He then received his master’s degree in Health and Physical Education from Indiana University in 1964.

 

From 1964-68, Bankson coached at the high school level in Indiana and Michigan, compiling a 49-24 record.

 

In 1968, Bankson joined the staff at Lorain County Community College and built a junior college power.  At LCCC, Bankson compiled an impressive 232-90 career record and his teams earned 10 trips to the NJCAA regional tournaments.

On April 30, 1980, Bankson was named head basketball coach at Baldwin-Wallace

College.  A year later, he became the director of athletics.

 

Bankson has been selected to two Halls of Fame.  He was inducted into the Elyria Sports Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Port Huron, Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.  An avid golfer with a single-digit handicap, he resides in Elyria with his wife, Roselyn.  The Bankson’s have three daughters and seven grandchildren.