University of Alabama in Huntsville head men’s basketball coach Lennie Acuff reached a career milestone on Thursday night, logging his 500th victory in his 27th season and his 20th year at the helm of the UAH program.
Acuff , who ranks third all-time in the Gulf South Conference victories with 383 in the league – is the 18th active Division II coach to reach the 500-win plateau.
The Huntsville native has built up a tremendous résumé, especially during his 20 years in Huntsville where he has been named the NABC District Coach of the Year four times and the GSC Coach of the Year a league-record eight times. Acuff’s teams have reached nine NCAA tournaments and won two South Region titles en route to a pair of Elite Eight berths, won eight GSC regular season titles including an unprecedented stretch of six in seven years, and captured two GSC tournament titles.
In the current decade, Acuff’s program is the ninth-winningest in Division II by winning percentage.
Acuff has mentored numerous decorated players including four first team All-Americans and two South Region Players of the Year in addition to five GSC Players of the Year and four GSC Freshmen of the Year. In total, 31 of his players have earned all-GSC status.
Prior to coming back to his hometown as UAH’s head coach, Acuff served as the head coach at Berry in Rome, Georgia, for two seasons following his first job which was a three-year stint at Belhaven College in Jackson, Mississippi.
