Introduction
Larry Hunter (born (1949-08-08)August 8, 1949) is an American college basketball coach and the current 17th head coach of the Western Carolina University men's basketball team. He had been head coach of the Ohio Bobcats men's basketball team from 1989 to 2001, compiling a winning record of 58 percent (204–148). His teams made one NCAA tournament appearance in 1994, an NIT appearance in 1995, and won the prestigious pre-season NIT in 1994. Despite his solid record, Hunter is second on Ohio University's all-time wins list, and had only one losing season. He was fired in 2001. Hunter also played at Ohio University from 1970 to 1971.
Ohio University hired its alumnus away from Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Hunter led Wittenberg for thirteen seasons and led the Tigers to the program's second NCAA Division III National Championship in 1977 and also garnered NABC Division III National Coach of the Year that same year. He was the first coach in NCAA history to win a national championship in his first season at a school. In total, Hunter won 6 regular season Ohio Athletic Conference Championships and 6 Ohio Athletic Conference Tournament Championships during his tenure at Wittenberg. Before moving to Western Carolina University, he was an assistant coach and an associate head coach under Herb Sendek at North Carolina State University.
Coaching career record
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ohio Bobcats (Mid-American Conference) (1989–2001) | |||||||||
| 1989–90 | Ohio Bobcats | 12–16 | 5–11 | 8th | |||||
| 1990–91 | Ohio Bobcats | 16–12 | 9–7 | 5th | |||||
| 1991–92 | Ohio Bobcats | 18–10 | 10–6 | 4th | |||||
| 1992–93 | Ohio Bobcats | 14–13 | 11–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1993–94 | Ohio Bobcats | 25–8 | 14–4 | 1st | NCAA 1st Round | ||||
| 1994–95 | Ohio Bobcats | 24–10 | 13–5 | 2nd | NIT 2nd Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | Ohio Bobcats | 16–14 | 11–7 | 4th | |||||
| 1996–97 | Ohio Bobcats | 17–10 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 1997–98 | Ohio Bobcats | 5–21 | 3–15 | 6th (East) | |||||
| 1998–99 | Ohio Bobcats | 18–10 | 12–6 | 4th (East) | |||||
| 1999–00 | Ohio Bobcats | 20–13 | 11–7 | 5th (East) | |||||
| 2000–01 | Ohio Bobcats | 19–11 | 12–6 | 3rd (East) | |||||
| Ohio Bobcats: | 204–148 (.580) | 123–87 | |||||||
| Western Carolina Catamounts (Southern Conference) (2005–current) | |||||||||
| 2005–06 | Western Carolina | 13–17 | 7–7 | 3rd (North) | |||||
| 2006–07 | Western Carolina | 11–20 | 7–11 | 3rd (North) | |||||
| 2007–08 | Western Carolina | 10–21 | 6–14 | 5th (North) | |||||
| 2008–09 | Western Carolina | 16–15 | 11–9 | T–1st (North) | |||||
| 2009–10 | Western Carolina | 22–12 | 11–7 | 2nd (North) | CIT 1st Round | ||||
| 2010–11 | Western Carolina | 18–15 | 12–6 | T–1st (North) | |||||
| 2011–12 | Western Carolina | 17–18 | 8–10 | T–3rd (North) | |||||
| 2012–13 | Western Carolina | 14–19 | 9–9 | T–5th | |||||
| 2013–14 | Western Carolina | 19–15 | 10–6 | 5th | |||||
| 2014–15 | Western Carolina | 15–17 | 9–9 | 4th | |||||
| 2015–16 | Western Carolina | 16–18 | 10–8 | T–5th | CBI First Round | ||||
| 2016–17 | Western Carolina | 0–0 | 0–0 | ||||||
| Western Carolina: | 171–188 (.476) | 91–87 (.511) | |||||||
| Total: | 375–336 (.527) | ||||||||
| National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||