Legendary Fighting Illini basketball coach and ambassador Lou Henson passed away peacefully in his Champaign home Saturday, July 25, the Henson family announced today. The Hall of Fame coach retired as the all-time leader in victories at both the University of Illinois with 423 wins and New Mexico State with 289 wins. Born January 10, 1932, Coach Henson was 88 at the time of his death.
A private graveside service was held with family members earlier today (Wednesday) in Champaign.
“Our Orange and Blue hearts are heavy,” said Josh Whitman, Illinois Director of Athletics. “We have lost an Illini icon. We have lost a role model, a friend, and a leader. We have lost our coach. Coach Henson may be gone, but the memories he provided us, and the legacy he created, will last forever. He was responsible for almost 800 wins in the record book and countless Fighting Illini moments frozen in time, but Coach Henson’s true measure will be felt in the lives he touched – the lives of his former players, people on this campus, and friends in our broader community. We are all better for whatever time we were privileged to spend with Coach Lou, whether it was five minutes or 50 years. He made everyone feel like a friend. I so enjoyed my time with Coach these last five years, and I will miss him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Mary, Lisa, Lori, Leigh Anne, and the entire Henson family. Their family will always be part of ours.”
“It is a sad day for the Illinois Basketball family and Illini Nation as we mourn the passing of Lou Henson, the greatest coach in our program’s proud history,” said Illinois Basketball Coach Brad Underwood. “His achievements are legendary, but what is immeasurable are the countless lives he impacted during his 21 years in Champaign and 41 years in coaching. My thoughts and prayers are with his wife Mary and their family, and the hundreds of players who were fortunate enough to be led by such a tremendous man and coach. Rest in peace to the best to ever wear the orange jacket; we’ll miss you Coach.”
Lou Henson’s legendary college basketball coaching career spanned 41 years at three programs. He spent four seasons at Hardin-Simmons (1963-66), where he integrated the basketball program before garnering a 67-36 record. He followed with a nine-year stint at New Mexico State (1967-75), leading the Aggies to the 1970 Final Four and totaling a record of 173-71. That success prepared him for his next stop at the University of Illinois.
Henson was hired at Illinois on April 5, 1975. What followed was a legendary 21-year career in charge of the Orange and Blue (1976-96). He amassed a 423-224 record, highlighted by 12 NCAA Tournament appearances, a total of 15 postseason bids, and eleven 20-win seasons. Illinois basketball was one of the nation’s most dominant programs during Henson’s tenure, earning a top-5 seed in the NCAA Tournament seven straight years from 1984 through 1990.
Henson’s Illini won the 1984 Big Ten Championship and advanced to the Elite Eight. His most successful season came with the Flyin’ Illini, who won a then-school record 31 games and advanced to the 1989 NCAA Final Four. Illinois won 233 games during the 1980s, standing as the winningest Big Ten team of that decade.
Henson still ranks fifth all-time among Big Ten coaches in both total wins (423) and conference wins (214).
Following his retirement from Illinois, Henson returned to the sidelines at New Mexico State, leading the Aggies for an additional seven-plus years (1998-05) and collecting a 116-81 record, highlighted by a 1999 Big West title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
In all, Henson won 779 games; ranking 24th on the all-time NCAA wins list, and 15th all-time among coaches with at least 10 years spent in Division I. He is one of 13 coaches in NCAA history to record 200-plus wins at two DI schools, totaling 423 at Illinois and 289 at New Mexico State to remain the winningest coach at both programs. He also stands as one of just 15 coaches to lead at least two different teams to the Final Four.
A native of Okay, Oklahoma, Henson earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New Mexico State while earning three varsity basketball letters from 1953-55. He began his coaching career at Las Cruces High School, winning three straight New Mexico state titles from 1959-61.
Henson was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015, the Illinois Athletics Hall of Fame in 2018, the New Mexico State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1978, the Hardin-Simmons Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997, and the Oklahoma Sports Hall of Fame in 2019.
The playing floor at State Farm Center was officially dedicated as Lou Henson Court on Dec. 2, 2015, and his name also adorns the court at New Mexico State.
The Henson family asks that in lieu of flowers, friends and fans consider a memorial contribution in Coach Henson’s name to one or more of the following:
Boys & Girls Club of Las Cruces, New Mexico
330 W. Las Cruces Avenue
Las Cruces, NM 88005
Boys & Girls Club of Las Cruces, NM
Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club of Champaign, Illinois
201 E. Park Street
Champaign, IL 61820
Don Moyer Boys & Girls Club of Champaign, IL
Cunningham Children’s Home
1301 N. Cunningham Avenue
Urbana, Illinois 61802
Cunningham Children’s Home
NMSU Foundation, Inc.
Lou and Mary Henson Endowed Scholarship
P.O. Box 3590
Las Cruces, NM 88003
Lou and Mary Henson Endowed Scholarship
U of I Foundation
Lou and Mary Henson Men’s Basketball Academic Assistance Fund
1305 W. Green Street
Urbana, IL 61801
Lou and Mary Henson Men’s Basketball Academic Assistance Fund
