George Raveling, a Hall of Fame college basketball coach who Michael Jordan credits with influencing him to sign with the sneaker brand Nike a move that launched a cultural phenomenon has passed. He was 88.
“It is with deep sadness and unimaginable pain that we share the passing of our beloved ‘Coach,’ George Henry Raveling, who faced cancer with courage and grace,” Raveling’s family wrote in a statement. “There are no words to fully capture what George meant to his family, friends, colleagues, former players, and assistants and to the world.”
George Raveling speaks onstage at the 21st Annual Harold and Carole Pump Foundation Gala held at The Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills, California, on August 20, 2021. (Photo by Tiffany Rose/Getty Images for Harold and Carole Pump Foundation)
George Raveling began his coaching journey at his alma mater, Villanova, where he joined the staff as an assistant in 1963. That opportunity marked the start of a remarkable career spanning more than 30 years. He went on to serve as an assistant coach at the University of Maryland before taking head coaching positions at Washington State, the University of Iowa, and the University of Southern California. During his tenure, Raveling was named Pac-10 Coach of the Year three times and received honors from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. In 2015, he was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Among his many contributions to the sport, Raveling is perhaps best known for his pivotal role in shaping sneaker history: in 1984, he famously advised a young Michael Jordan fresh out of the University of North Carolina and headed to the Chicago Bulls to sign with Nike, then an up-and-coming athletic brand. The endorsement would go on to become a cultural and commercial landmark.
In a 2015 interview, Michael Jordan recalled Raveling’s persistent push for him to sign with Nike at a time when the brand was still emerging in the basketball world.
“He used to always try to talk to me, ‘You gotta go Nike, you gotta go Nike. You’ve got to try,’” Jordan said.
Jordan eventually took his advice a decision that would revolutionize sports marketing. The deal included a rare 5% royalty on each pair of Air Jordans sold, helping Jordan earn an estimated $1.5 billion from the partnership to date.
Raveling retired from college coaching in the mid-1990s, but his impact on the game and on generations of athletes continued long after he left the sidelines.
In August 1963, a young George Raveling and a friend traveled to Washington, D.C., encouraged by the friend’s father to witness history in the making: the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The night before the event, the two college students met a civil rights organizer who asked if they’d be willing to volunteer as security during the demonstration. Standing 6-foot-4, Raveling was an imposing presence and gladly accepted.
That chance encounter would place him just feet from the podium as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech a moment that would stay with Raveling for the rest of his life.
Keeping sacred for over 20 years that he had the original typewritten copy of the “I Have a Dream” speech private. He didn’t tell anyone not even his wife. It wasn’t until 1983, the year he made history as the first Black head basketball coach at the University of Iowa and in the Big Ten Conference, that he revealed he had held onto the historic document all those years.
George Raveling’s life was far more than wins and losses on the court. He was a pioneer, a mentor, and a quiet guardian of history. From breaking racial barriers in college basketball to helping shape Michael Jordan’s legacy with Nike, to standing inches from Dr. King during one of the most pivotal moments in American history, Raveling consistently found himself at the intersection of sports, culture, and change.
His influence spanned generations — not just through the players he coached, but through the lives he touched with his wisdom, grace, and unshakable sense of purpose. Whether courtside or at the heart of a movement, George Raveling led with dignity, vision, and a profound understanding of his place in the bigger picture.
He leaves behind a legacy not just of excellence, but of impact one that will continue to resound through history books, locker rooms, and lives for years to come.
BY: BEWITTY Staff