George Raveling Dead at 88, Famed Nike Exec and Basketball Coach

George Raveling — a beloved college basketball coach and Nike executive who played a pivotal role in signing Michael Jordan to the brand — has passed away. He was 88.

His family released a statement on Tuesday via social media … saying Raveling was surrounded by family when he transitioned peacefully following a courageous battle with cancer.

“There are no words to fully capture what George meant to his family, friends, colleagues, former players, and assistants — and to the world,” his family said.

“He will be profoundly missed, yet his aura, energy, divine presence, and timeless wisdom live on in all those he touched and transformed.”

Raveling played college basketball for Villanova from 1957 to 1960 before becoming their assistant head coach in 1963.

He went on to coach Maryland, Washington State, Iowa and USC before retiring in 1994. He earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors three times and was also awarded NABC Coach of the Year.

He served as an assistant coach for Team USA in the 1984 Olympics. He was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.

After retiring, Raveling became Nike’s global basketball sports marketing director and was the one who urged Jordan to sign with the brand.

“Sonny (Vaccaro) likes to take the credit. But it really wasn’t Sonny, it was actually George Raveling,” Jordan said in 2015.

“He used to always try to talk to me, ‘You gotta go Nike, you gotta go Nike. You’ve got to try.'”

Outside of sports, Raveling was a guard atMartin Luther King‘s March in Washington in 1963. He asked MLK for his “I Have A Dream” speech and despite being offered millions for the original typewritten copy, Raveling donated it to his alma mater.

It’s currently at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.