Happy Osborne, former head coach at NAIA powerhouse Georgetown College for 15 years, has been named the 22nd head men’s basketball coach in the 103-year history of the sport at eight-time NCAA Division II Champion Kentucky Wesleyan College, according to Director of Athletics David Williams.
“We are honored that Happy Osborne has agreed to lead our basketball program,” said Williams. “Happy will work tirelessly to be an ambassador for the entire College.
“He is a proven winner that deeply cares about every aspect of the College. Above all, Happy is a good person. He operates under the pillars of honesty, integrity and respect.
“Happy was the one applicant that I honestly believe will get us our ninth championship banner. He understands the expectations of being the basketball coach at Kentucky Wesleyan College and will excel in the role.”
In 15 seasons, Osborne compiled a 456-84 record for a .844 winning percentage, an average of 30.4 wins per season, where the Tigers made the NAIA Championship Tournament every year.
He won over 25-plus games all 15 years including collecting eight 30-plus win seasons. He won 100 games and 400 games quicker than any other coach, according to college records.
Osborne, 55, also won the most tournament games of any coach in NAIA basketball history with a 29-13 record.
Most recently, he led the Tigers to a 32-5 record and the Fab Four, the NAIA national semifinals, in 2010-11.
He has won one NAIA Championship (1998), finished national runner-up once (2000), reached the Fab Four four times (2003, 2004, 2008, 2011), the final eight once (2005) and the round of Sweet Sixteen five times (1997, 1999, 2001, 2002) in his tenure.
His resume also shows Georgetown ranked in the Top 25 in the final poll all 15 seasons. The Tigers finished No. 1 twice and placed in the Top 10 nine times with four in the second ten.
For his accomplishments, Osborne received both the NAIA National Coach of the Year and Basketball Times National Coach of the Year Award in 1998.
“I am excited and humbled to be the head coach of most successful and storied NCAA Division II basketball program in America,” said Osborne. “When you say Kentucky Wesleyan College, that’s says it all.
“Not every college has the opportunity to compete for a national championship every year and that’s mine and Kentucky Wesleyan’s goal for this program.
“We have a tremendous fan and alumni base that I hope we can amplify to its’ full capability not only at home but also on the road.
“To call one of America’s historic basketball arena’s the Owensboro Sportscenter home just adds to the mystique of our championship tradition.
“Joining the new Great Midwest Athletic Conference next season also makes for exciting times.
“This is a great college to be associated with. Our academics are unparalleled and the college’s top priority for the entire community is the success of each and every student matches my own personal education philosophy.
“I want our program to be about relationships that last not only through a basketball season but a lifetime because that’s the true commitment to the student-athlete. We recruit graduates.”
Osborne also won 12 Mid-South Conference Regular Season Titles (1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, and 2011) and eight MSC Tournament Championships (1997 1999, 2000, 2002, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2011).
He received Mid-South Conference Coach of the Year five times (2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2009).
Osborne coached 14 All-Americans honored 22 times and 40 All-Mid-South Conference selections including five Players of the Year and one Freshman of the Year.
In the classroom, 10 student-athletes earned Academic All-Mid-South Conference honors 23 times and six received All-American Scholar-Athlete recognition eight times.
Overall, 89 percent of his student-athletes graduated during his 15 years at Georgetown.
He was the acting head coach for Georgetown during the 1995-96 season taking over for then head coach Jim Reid during his battle with cancer. He guided the Tigers to a 36-3 record and the NAIA Championship game.
Osborne began his tenure at Georgetown as an assistant coach in 1980, serving for 14 years before being promoted to the head position in 1996.
The native of Lynch, Ky., left Georgetown in August, 2011 to become an associate head coach at Tennessee Tech University for one season before returning back to the state.
Osborne spent the 2012-13 season as the head coach at Montgomery County High School in Mount Sterling, Ky., where he led the Indians their best season in history with a 33-5 record and the state championship semifinals.
His 16-year combined collegiate and high school record totals 489 wins and 89 losses for an 84.6 winning percentage.
He started his coaching career serving as a student assistant at both Pikeville College (1975-76) and Morehead State (1978-80).
Osborne graduated from Morehead State University in 1980 with a bachelor’s degree in Government and Public Affairs. He received his master’s in education from Georgetown in 1982.
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