Former Kennesaw State basketball coach Tony Ingle, one or the more successful coaches in program history, died Monday.
According to multiple media reports, Ingle died after fighting COVID-19 for several weeks. One of Ingle’s sons tweeted in late December that his dad was battling COVID and was in ICU.
Ingle was hired before the 2000-01 season and coached the Owls for 11 seasons, winning 178 games. The first five of those seasons, the Owls competed at the NCAA Division II level, and their record was 115-45, including 62-24 in Peach Belt Conference play. Kennesaw State won the Division II national championship in 2004. That season the Owls finished with a 35-4 record, including 16-0 in conference games.
“I loved Tony and he is going to be sorely missed,” former Kennesaw State athletic director Dave Waples said in a statement released by the school Tuesday. “You just can’t put into words when you lose someone with his impact. He was such an integral part of KSU and basketball in the state of Georgia. It’s a monumental loss and someone we are going to miss greatly.”
After the Owls moved to Division I, Ingle coached the team for six seasons, compiling a 63-121 record. In the nine full seasons since Ingle left, the Owls were 64-213 under four coaches. They have a 3-11 record this season.
Ingle, who is from Dalton, played at Dalton Junior College and Huntingdon College. He began his coaching career at Gordon College and then coach at Alabama-Huntsville and BYU before he was hired by Kennesaw State. After coaching the Owls, Ingle finished his career at Dalton State, where the lead the team to the NAIA national championship in 2015.
According to Kennesaw State, Ingle is survived by his wife, Jeanne, his four sons, including former KSU basketball players Golden and Israel Ingle, his daughter and 10 grandchildren.
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