The Tony Ingle Portfolio

     Kennesaw State head coach Tony Ingle is widely considered one of the most popular coaches in the country. In just five years with the Owls, Ingle has thrusted Kennesaw State from years of mediocrity into the national spotlight – capped by winning the 2003-04 Division II National Championship.

     Under Ingle, the Owls have enjoyed a quick rise into national prominence. In 2002-03, Ingle led the Owls into their first ever national tournament as well as guiding them to a record-setting 25-win season. The next season the Owls reached the pinnacle with a national championship, and last year, Ingle led his team to another national tournament appearance with a 25-win season.

     All told, the Owls have won 116 games in Ingle’s five years at the helm (116-45, .720), including four straight 20-win seasons. Last season the Owls captured a share of the Peach Belt Conference regular season championship, their second straight title, with a record of 25-6 and a berth in the NCAA Division II National Field of 64.

     After conquering the Division II landscape, Coach Ingle must get his 2005-06 team ready for a new challenge as the university enters into the exciting world of NCAA Division I basketball.

     Ingle arrived at Kennesaw State for the 2000-01 season, taking his undermanned, overachieving team to an 11-15 record. Ingle then followed with a 20-10 season in 2001-02. The following year, Ingle’s program reached new heights as his 2002-03 went 25-10, made the post-season for the first time ever and gave KSU its first-ever back-to-back 20-win seasons. Coach Ingle and his Owls swept the peach Belt Conference post season honors, with Ingle taking home the PBC Coach of the Year award, Terrence Hill winning PBC Player of the Year honors, and Georgy Joseph garnering the Freshman of the Year award.

     The winningest coach in KSU history, Ingle is the lone son of six children of Bobbie and Claud Ingle. Born in Dalton, Georgia, Ingle graduated form North Whitfield High School in 1971 where he starred as a four-year player on the varsity basketball team. Named the Most Valuable Player in both his junior and senior seasons, he averaged 18.4 points, 14.1 assists and 9.4 steals per game en route to being selected to the 1971 Chattanooga Free Press First Team All-Tri State Squad.

     He began his collegiate playing career at Dalton Junior College where his Roadrunners won back-to-back state and regional titles while making two trips to the national tournament. He played his final two season of college ball at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama.
 

     Ingle began his coaching career while stile a player at Huntingdon. He coached a 10-under team while a junior in college before coaching a 14-under team as a senior. Upon graduating with a degree in Physical Education, Ingle took his first full-time coaching position at Northwest Whitfield. After coaching the JV squad and assisting the varsity, Ingle moved to Southeast high School in Dalton, Georgia. His brief two-year tenure was followed by a stint at Cherokee High School where he took a perennial doormat to the Class AAA championship in the 1981-82 season.

     In 1985, Ingle began his collegiate coaching career as he was handed the task of reintroducing a basketball program at Gordon College in Barnesville, Georgia. After dropping roundball for over a decade, Ingle built the program from scratch and compiled a 61-32 record in his three years. He took Gordon to the state playoffs in each of his three seasons and led the Hilltoppers to the regional semifinals in his second season. In Ingle’s final season at Gordon, he advanced them to the NJCAA Region XVII championship game.

     In 1988 Ingle went to the University of Alabama-Huntsville where he inherited a team that had won just 16 games in the past three seasons. In his first and only year with the Chargers, Ingle led UAH to a 10-18 record.

     The 1989-90 season saw Ingle under the spotlight of big-time college basketball, as he was named assistant coach to Roger Reid at Brigham Young University. Ingle remained at BYU for eight seasons. During that time, the Cougars played in five NCAA tournaments and had three top 32 finishes (90, 92, 93), three WAC conference regular season titles (90, 92, 93) and two WAC tournament championships (91, 92). BYU won 21 or more games in six of the eight seasons Ingle was with the Cougars and had an overall record of 157-77.

     Ingle is also familiar with the NBA ranks. Aside from being a scout for the Utah Jazz from 1997-99, Ingle has coached two NBA players (Shawn Bradley and Andy Toolson) as well as nearly 30 players who have played professionally overseas.

     On the 1999-00 season, Ingle took a brief hiatus from coaching and parlayed his basketball background to pursue a broadcasting career, where he served as the color commentator for the broadcasts of the Mountain West Conference.

     Coach Ingle is married to Jeanne and the couple, who make their home in nearby Acworth, Georgia, have five children – Elliot (29), Sunshine (26), Golden (23), Tony, Jr. (22), and Israel (20) – and two grandchildren – Halle (7) and Jaiden (4).

     KSU basketball has become a family affair for Ingle, as Tony, Jr. and Israel serve on his staff and Golden is a member of the 2006-07 squad.

What They're Saying About Tony Ingle

Ingle's Kennesaw State Milestones

First Game at Paine College, 71-83, 2000

First Win vs. North Georgia, 89-67, 2000

First Peach Belt Conference Win Augusta State, 70-64, 2000

First Peach Belt Conference Tournament Win vs. Francis Marion, 96-83, 2002

First NCAA Tournament Win vs. Virginia Union, 2003

25th KSU Win vs. Paine, 87-57, 2002

50th KSU Win vs. Columbus State, 93-77, 2003

75th KSU Win at Armstrong Atlantic, 65-61, 2004

100th KSU Win vs. Tusculum, 71-62, 2004

First Division One Win vs. Lamar, 79-60, 2005

First Atlantic Sun Conference Win vs. Lipscomb, 67-66, 2005

125th KSU Win at Mercer, 63-57, 2006

Tony Ingle's Career Awards and Honors

Tony Ingle at Kennesaw State

Tony Ingle at a Glance

PERSONAL DATA

Hometown: Dalton, Georgia

Birthdate: June 11, 1952

Parents: Bobbie and Claud Ingle

EDUCATION

North Georgia College and State University (1980)

Huntingdon College (1976)

North Whitfield High School (1971)

PLAYING EXPERIENCE

Huntingdon College (1974-76)

Dalton Junior College (1971-73)

North Whitfield High School (1967-71)

COACHING CAREER

Kennesaw State (2000-Present)

Utah Jazz NBA Scout (1997-2000)

Brigham Young University (1989-97)

University of Alabama-Huntsville (1988-89)

Gordon College (1985-88)

Cherokee High School (1978-85)

Southeast High School (1977-78)

Northwest Whitfield High School (1976-77)

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