Donald W. Suman (January 19, 1920 – February 5, 2015) was a college basketball coach. He was the head coach of Rice from 1949 to 1959. He coached Rice to a 132–105 record, winning one Southwest Conference championship and making one NCAA tournament appearance. He also played college basketball and football as a student at Rice. After leaving his coaching position, he took a front office position under Bud Adams for the Houston Oilers. He was inducted into the Rice athletics Hall of Fame in 1987.[1] He left Rice to become General Manager of the new Houston Oilers. In his first three seasons as GM the Oilers won the first two AFL championships. In his two seasons as GM the Oilers combined record was 20–7–1.[2]
 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 19, 1920 San Antonio, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | February 5, 2015 (aged 95) Houston, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1944–1945 | Rice |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1949–1959 | Rice |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 132–105 (.557) |
| Tournaments | 1–1 (NCAA) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| SWC regular season (1954) | |
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rice Owls (Southwest Conference) (1949–1959) | |||||||||
| 1949–50 | Rice | 8–15 | 2–10 | 7th | |||||
| 1950–51 | Rice | 8–15 | 2–10 | 7th | |||||
| 1951–52 | Rice | 9–15 | 4–8 | T–6th | |||||
| 1952–53 | Rice | 15–6 | 8–4 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1953–54 | Rice | 23–5 | 9–3 | T–1st | NCAA Regional Third Place | ||||
| 1954–55 | Rice | 10–12 | 6–6 | 5th | |||||
| 1955–56 | Rice | 19–5 | 8–4 | 3rd | |||||
| 1956–57 | Rice | 16–8 | 8–4 | 2nd | |||||
| 1957–58 | Rice | 13–11 | 7–7 | T–5th | |||||
| 1958–59 | Rice | 11–13 | 5–9 | 7th | |||||
| Rice: | 132–105 (.557) | 59–65 (.476) | |||||||
| Total: | 132–105 (.557) | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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References
edit- ^ "Distinguished "R" man award and Rice athletic Hall of Fame" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on November 7, 2013.
- ^ "Don Suman Football Executive Record". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
- ^ "Donald W. Suman obituary". Legacy.com. Retrieved October 31, 2015.