Del Harris, a 1959 graduate of Milligan College, was selected as an inaugural member of the Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association’s (TICUA) Hall of Fame when the organization announced the inaugural class of 2020 at the beginning of October.
Every year, TICUA honors a number of influential alumni from their 35 member institutions to highlight their contributions to the state of Tennessee. For 2020, 23 alumni alongside Harris were selected in the Hall of Fame.
“The inaugural class of the TICUA Hall of Fame features a diverse and incredibly impressive group of citizens that our institutions have helped prepare,” said TICUA President Claude Pressnell in a news release. “While you will recognize many of the names, all of these alumni have made significant contributions worth learning about. We are proud to be able to give them just a small portion of the recognition they deserve.”
Harris, born in 1937, is originally from Plainfield, Indiana. He is a legendary NBA coach who spent 4 of his 37 years long basketball career as a part of the Milligan basketball team. He earned the All-Conference title 3 times as a basketball player during his collegiate career.
After his college career, Harris was head coach for the Houston Rockets, Milwaukee Bucks, and Los Angeles Lakers. As of today, he inherits the position as the vice president of the Texas Legends.
In addition to his successful basketball career, Harris has authored three books on basketball theory and is an ordained minister at a Christian Church.
Milligan’s President, Dr. Bill Greer, said in a news release that, “Del Harris lives out the mission of Milligan University to honor God through servant-leadership. Whether it be coaching professional athletes on the basketball court, giving motivational lectures, or authoring books on how to be an effective member of any team, Harris has dedicated his life to leadership through service.”
This was not the first time Harris was elected into a hall of fame. Earlier in his life he was inducted into the Plainfield High School Hall of Fame, the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, the Milligan College Hall of Fame and the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics Hall of Fame.
Some of his most prestigious awards, excluding the hall of fame inductions, are the 2019 John W. Bunn Lifetime Achievement Award and the 2020 Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award – both recognizing his accomplishments outside the basketball court.
Headline photo: Tennessee Independent Colleges and Universities Association logo