Ouachita Stories

Bill Vining Sr., Ouachita Baptist University’s all-time winningest basketball coach and the longest-serving athletic director in school history, died Aug. 15, 2025. He was 95 years old.

Vining served as the university’s men’s basketball coach for a combined 34 seasons between 1954 and 1989. He is the first and, thus far, only college men’s basketball coach in the state of Arkansas to reach 500 career wins with a single institution. His six conference titles and three All-Americans coached actively stand as Tiger records. Vining also coached for Team USA, winning multiple medals and mentoring future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famers. In addition to his basketball responsibilities, he was the Tigers’ athletic director from 1965 to 1996, as well as a Ouachita badminton instructor known for his skill and competitive nature.

“Coach Vining was truly a legend,” Dennis Nutt, current head coach of the Ouachita men’s basketball team, said. “His record speaks for itself, but it was the respect he earned as both a coach and mentor to the game of basketball that set him apart. From the time I arrived in 2011, Coach never failed to ask about our team, and you could always sense his excitement when he walked into the arena. He will be deeply missed.”

Born Oct. 22, 1929, in Eudora, Arkansas, Vining first arrived on campus in the Fall 1947 semester, hitching a ride in the back of his friend’s truck. In a 2017 interview with The Signal student newspaper’s Caleb Byrd, Vining admitted that he had made the trip from Eudora to Arkadelphia without properly applying to Ouachita. As a result, he was not enrolled and did not have a room assignment. Vining made his way to the college president’s house and pleaded his case to Ouachita President James R. Grant. The plea paid off, as the president was able to find a spot. Grant, in turn, was responsible for bringing in a student that would become one of the school’s most iconic athletic figures.

Vining quickly established himself as a dual-sport athlete, playing end for the Ouachita football team and in the frontcourt for the Tiger basketball team. He competed on both teams all four college years, becoming basketball captain as a senior. On top of his athletic involvement, Vining was senior class president, treasurer of Sigma Alpha Sigma social club, an ROTC battalion officer and one of 10 Ouachita Class of 1951 members to be named to “Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities.”

As a senior, Vining dated Ann Strickland, an Arkadelphia native and Ouachita’s 1950 Homecoming Queen. When Strickland was “kidnapped” by a group of Henderson State students ahead of that year’s Battle of the Ravine – one of the most infamous pranks in the rivalry’s 130-year history – Vining led the frantic search party. The Reddies returned Strickland to Ouachita the day before the big game and, from that point on, Ann and Bill were inseparable. The two married on Christmas Eve 1950 and were together until Ann’s death in 2009. Bill later wed Carolyn Davis in 2012.

Upon graduating from Ouachita with a Bachelor of Arts degree in mathematics in 1951, Vining served in the U.S. Army for two years. He rose to the rank of second lieutenant and received a Purple Heart during the Korean War. In 1954, Vining returned to Ouachita and became head coach of the men’s basketball program at just 24 years old. Beginning with the 1962-63 season, the Tigers posted an unprecedented 16 consecutive winning seasons, including five with 20 or more victories. Ouachita won the Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference championship in 1963 and 1964 – their first conference titles in almost two decades. By the end of the 1970s, Vining’s teams added four more AIC championships to the trophy case. They also won six district titles, taking third place in the NAIA national tournament in 1965.

Across his tenure with the Tigers, Vining coached three All-Americans, beginning with Leon Clements. Clements was the first All-American in program history, earning the honor after scoring an AIC-record 964 points in his 1964-65 senior season. According to a 2015 article by Jeremy Muck of The Arkansas-Democrat Gazette, Vining and his staff regularly worked with Clements on developing the center’s jump shot and post play. The result was 2,536 career points and 1,320 career rebounds – both still school records. Vining also mentored NAIA All-Americans Tommy Patterson (1972) and Johnny Jenkins (1978), who scored over 1,100 points each. In fact, all four of Ouachita’s top all-time scorers, including Clements, Jim Hamilton, Jenkins and Maurice Scarborough, played for Vining.

In 1965, Vining signed Robert Cornelius out of Lincoln High School in Camden, Arkansas, making Cornelius the first African American athlete in both Ouachita and Arkansas Intercollegiate Conference history. With Vining’s guidance, Robert became a two-time All-AIC player and one of only three men in team history to record more than 800 career rebounds. Cornelius was inducted into the Ouachita Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010.

During the mid-1950s, Vining accepted an invite to go with the Ouachita women’s basketball team to their first Arkansas AAU State Tournament. He continued to support the program throughout its formative years, working with players like Carolyn Moffatt, who became a legendary Ouachita coach in her own right. Vining and Moffatt were both selected for the Ouachita Athletics Hall of Fame’s inaugural class in 2003.

“Coach Vining meant so much to so many people,” director of athletics David Sharp said. “It’s hard to think about this university, and specifically our athletic department, without thinking about the legacy he leaves behind. It’s been special to witness his spirit and love of Ouachita live on through multiple generations.”

Beyond the university, Vining was respected nationwide for his basketball leadership, earning an assistant coaching role for Team USA at the 1977 World University Games in Bulgaria. That team, which featured Sidney Moncrief and Larry Bird, took home the gold medal. A year later, Vining was the U.S. national team’s head coach at the 1978 Yuri Gagarin Cup in the Soviet Union, leading a squad starring Earvin “Magic” Johnson to the silver medal.

Vining was flooded with honors throughout his career and retirement. He was a five-time NAIA District Coach of the Year and 1979 NAIA Hall of Fame inductee. Vining was also chosen for the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 1986. In 1997, Rockefeller Field House – the home of both Tiger basketball teams – was rededicated as Bill Vining Arena in the coach’s honor. On Jan. 30, 2016, Ouachita unveiled a display called the Coach Bill Vining Legacy Wall in the arena lobby, where it can still be viewed today. Long after his coaching days, Vining continued to attend games, eager to cheer on the Tigers while connecting with friends both old and new.

“When I came to Ouachita in 2016, I marveled at how Coach Vining’s former players regularly returned to see and honor him,” Dr. Ben Sells, Ouachita president, said. “He was always gracious to me, too, and I enjoyed talking with him at home basketball games. Though I didn’t see his coaching career in person, everyone in the Ouachita community has witnessed the remarkable legacy he created.”

Vining is survived by children Charlotte Vining Douglas, Bill Vining Jr., Amanda Vining Morgan, Andrew Vining, Molly Vining Wallace and Alonzo Vining; stepchildren Eddie Barnett, David Kilgore and Sue Ellen Thomas; 22 grandchildren; 38 great-grandchildren; and two great-great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife, Ann Strickland Vining; his second wife, Carolyn Davis Vining; his daughter, Polly Ann Vining; his grandson, Tyler Morgan; siblings Don Vining and Ruth Young; and stepsiblings T.C. Vining, Louis Vining, Robert Vining and Josie Vining.

Visitation will be held at First Baptist Church Arkadelphia – Vining’s church home for more than 70 years – from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. A celebration of life will begin at 2 p.m. in the same location, with a live stream available on the FBC Arkadelphia YouTube channel. The ceremony will be followed by a graveside memorial and burial at Arkadelphia’s Rest Haven Memorial Gardens. Military honors will be provided by the Arkansas Patriot Guard. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to the Bill and Ann Vining Basketball Scholarship Fund at Ouachita.

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