[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 37 (Thursday, February 29, 2024)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1073-S1074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 REMEMBERING CHARLES ``LEFTY'' DRIESELL

 Mr. KAINE. Madam President, it is my honor to recognize the 
life of long-time basketball coach Charles ``Lefty'' Driesell, who 
sadly passed away on February 17, 2024, at the age of 92, in Virginia 
Beach.
  Driesell was born on Christmas Day, 1931, in Norfolk, VA. He started 
down the coaching path early in life, earning a varsity letter for the 
Granby High School basketball team in fourth grade for his service as a 
manager for the team. Driesell later became a star player for the team. 
While a senior in high school, he led his team to the Virginia State 
championship and was named tournament MVP.
  After high school, Driesell accepted a scholarship to Duke 
University, where he played center and eventually graduated with a 
degree in education. Soon after college, he returned to Granby as the 
junior varsity coach and then later accepted a job as the varsity coach 
at nearby Newport News High School, where he won another State 
championship.
  In 1960, Driesell joined the college coaching ranks, accepting the 
head coach position at Davidson University. Over the course of nine 
seasons, he accumulated 176 wins and made three NCAA tournaments.
  Following Davidson, Driesell coached 17 years at the University of 
Maryland. While there, he won 348 games, made the NCAA tournament eight 
times, won the Atlantic Coast Conference--

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ACC--twice, and won the 1972 National Invitation Tournament--NIT--
championship. Driesell's teams at Maryland were consistently among the 
highest ranked in the Nation, and the team was one of the powerhouse 
programs of his era.
  After Maryland, Driesell became the head coach of James Madison 
University, where he won another 159 games. His teams had the best 
record in the Colonial Athletic Association--CAA--for five straight 
seasons. Driesell finished his coaching career at Georgia State, 
winning 100 games. This made him the first coach to win 100 or more 
games at four different Division I schools.
  In 2018, Driesell was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball 
Hall of Fame. He is also a member of the National Collegiate Basketball 
Hall of Fame, and Davidson, Maryland, Southern Conference, and Virginia 
Sports Halls of Fame.
  Driesell's impact on the game of basketball goes well beyond his 786 
career wins. He also brought more fans to the game with innovations 
like Midnight Madness. On the first day college teams were allowed to 
practice for the season, Driesell invited fans to join the team for a 
12:03 a.m. run. This became an annual tradition, where thousands of 
fans would show up to celebrate the start of a new season with the 
team. Soon, other schools picked up on the practice, and these events 
have become a widespread and cherished part of college basketball.
  Driesell's impact was felt by the many assistant coaches and staff he 
worked with over his 40 years of coaching, the hundreds of student 
athletes he coached, and the countless fans who found joy in the game 
of basketball watching Lefty Driesell-coached teams.

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