[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 64 (Thursday, April 6, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Page S5511]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


 HONORING MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY BASKETBALL COACH JUD HEATHCOTE ON 
                     THE OCCASION OF HIS RETIREMENT

 Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to a great 
man and a great head coach: Jud Heathcote of the Michigan State 
Spartans. After this season ends, players and fans of college 
basketball at Michigan State will have to learn to live without the 
institution that is Jud Heathcote. He will be sorely missed.
  Jud Heathcote's 340 wins in 19 seasons at MSU make him State's all-
time winningest coach. Jud passed the previous mark of 232 in February 
1990. His teams hold the first through seventh-highest victory totals 
on MSU's all-time single-season list. To top it off, Coach Heathcote's 
Spartans won the NCAA championship in 1979 and won the Big Ten in 1978, 
1979, and 1990.
  As he retires, Jud, his wife Beverly, and their children Jerry, 
Carla, and Barbara can look back on a long-running, successful career. 
Jud capped off a very successful tenure as Head Coach at the University 
of Montana by serving as assistant coach of the U.S. Pan American team 
in 1975--a team which brought back the Gold Medal. Beginning at MSU in 
1976, Coach Heathcote became Big Ten Coach of the Year by the 1977-78 
season. He repeated this performance in 1985-85 and went on to become 
the National Association of Basketball Coaches [NABC] Coach of the Year 
in 1989-90 and College Sports Magazines's Coach of the Year in 1994-95.
  Noted for his special expertise in coaching defense, Jud also 
produced at MSU a team that this year led the Big Ten in field goal 
percentage, and was ranked seventh nationally. His dedication to the 
game, his concern with the well-being of the players and the integrity 
of the MSU program and his personal warmth and decency all make him a 
coach for all seasons.
  We will miss Coach Heathcote, but are grateful for his many 
contributions to basketball, MSU and Michigan, and wish him all the 
best in his retirement.


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