Dean Smith

Dean Edwards Smith (February 28, 1931 – February 7, 2015) was an American men's college basketball head coach. Known as a coaching legend, Smith coached for 36 years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1961 to 1997. During his tenure, he achieved 879 victories, which was the NCAA Division I men's basketball record at that time. Smith's coaching career included two national championships and 11 Final Four appearances for North Carolina. Prior to coaching, Smith played college basketball at the University of Kansas, where he won a national championship in 1952 under the coaching of Phog Allen. Smith was also recognized for his clean program and high graduation rate, with 96.6% of his athletes receiving their degrees.