Meyer, Raymond J.
Basketball
b. Nov. 18, 1913, Chicago, IL
d. March 17, 2006
At Notre Dame, Meyer captained the basketball team to 40 victories in 46 games during his junior and senior seasons, 1937 and 1938. After two years as a social worker, he returned to Notre Dame as an assistant coach and in 1942 he become head coach at DePaul University in Chicago. He was there for 42 seasons, second only to "Phog" Allen for the longest tenure at a major college.
Meyer had 37 winning seasons and his teams won 20 or more games 20 times. DePaul won the 1945 National Invitation Tournament and played in 13 NCAA tournaments under Meyer. When his son, Joey, succeeded him as coach in 1984, Meyer had compiled a record of 724 victories, fifth all-time, and 354 losses. He was named coach of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1979, and was consensus coach of the year in 1984.
After retiring as a coach, Meyer became a special assistant to the university president and also did radio commentary on the school's basketball games. He attended 1,467 consecutive games, as a coach or broadcaster, over a 55-year stretch.
Joey Meyer was forced to resign in late April of 1997 after suffering through a 3-23 season. His father was upset by the timing, since most coaching vacancies had been filled by then, so he left his position with DePaul.
However, the school in 1999 dedicated the Ray Meyer Fitness and Recreation Center and, on December 14, 2003, the basketball team's home floor was named the Ray and Marge Meyer Court. Marge Meyer had died in 1998.