Joe Sexson (March 29, 1934 – April 30, 2011) was an American college basketball coach.[1] He was the men's head coach at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1978 to 1989. He was the head baseball coach at Purdue University from 1960 to 1977 and an assistant basketball coach at Purdue.[1]

Sexson from 1961 Purdue yearbook

Sexson was a graduate of Arsenal Technical High School in Indianapolis where he was a star athlete and the 1952 Indiana Mr. Basketball.[1] He was also awarded the Arthur L. Trester Award for Mental Attitude, after leading Arsenal Tech to a Runner-Up finish in the state basketball tournament. He graduated Purdue where he was a 3-year starter, the team captain and All-Big Ten star on the basketball and baseball teams. When he graduated, he was the leading scorer (he is #36 on the all-time scoring list), his 16.6 ppg avg ranks in the Top Ten at Purdue. He was drafted by the New York Knicks in 1956 but chose to enter the high school teaching and coaching ranks and eventually returned to Purdue as an assistant.

He played for Head Coach Ray Eddy and later joined Eddy's staff as an assistant in 1960. He was a part of the staff that led the Boilermakers to the 1969 NCAA Title game and the 1974 National Invitational Tournament Championship.

While coaching the Butler Bulldogs, he won an Indiana Collegiate Conference (ICC) title and was named ICC Coach of the year in 1978. He also aided the Bulldogs' transition from membership in the ICC to the newly formed Midwestern City Conference. He was named the Midwestern City Conference Coach of the Year in 1984.[2]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Butler Bulldogs (Indiana Collegiate Conference) (1977–1978)
1977–78 Butler 15–16 6–0 1st
Butler Bulldogs (Independent) (1978–1979)
1978–79 Butler 11–16
Butler Bulldogs (Horizon League) (1979–1989)
1979–80 Butler 12–15 2–3 4th
1980–81 Butler 5–22 1–10 7th
1981–82 Butler 7–20 3–9 6th
1982–83 Butler 15–13 9–5 4th
1983–84 Butler 13–15 7–7 T–4th
1984–85 Butler 19–10 9–5 2nd NIT 1st Round
1985–86 Butler 9–19 2–10 7th
1986–87 Butler 12–14 5–7 T–5th
1987–88 Butler 14–14 5–5 T–3rd
1988–89 Butler 11–17 3–9 7th
Total: 143–188 (.432)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Joe W. Sexson - Obituary". Indianapolis Star. May 3, 2011. Retrieved 17 October 2013.
  2. ^ "View Image".