Legendary Razorback Basketball Coach Eddie Sutton Passes Away

Former Razorback head men’s basketball coach and College Basketball Hall of Famer Eddie Sutton passed away on Saturday at the age of 84. Sutton put the University of Arkansas on the college basketball map as part of a legendary career.

Last May, Coach Sutton was honored with the naming of the men’s practice gym at the University of Arkansas’ Basketball Performance Center. In 2016, the University of Arkansas honored Sutton with a banner in Bud Walton Arena.

Coach Sutton was an honorary coach, along with fellow Hall of Famer Nolan Richardson, for the Arkansas Red-White game played last October in Barnhill Arena. Coach Sutton also attended two regular season games at Bud Walton Arena this past season.

“Coach Sutton is an integral part of the history of Razorback Basketball,” Vice Chancellor and Director of Athletics Hunter Yurachek said. “Coach Sutton helped transform the way our state thought about college basketball and provided Razorback fans with countless memories. His legacy is not only shaped by his many victories and championships, but also by the immeasurable impact he made in the lives of the young men who called him ‘Coach’. The thoughts and prayers of the entire Razorback nation are with Steve, Scott, Sean and the entire Sutton family.”

Sutton spent 36 years as a NCAA Division I basketball coach and became the first coach to take four schools to the NCAA Tournament. In 1974, Sutton took over the Arkansas program and over the next 11 seasons, he compiled a record of 260-75, including five Southwest Conference championships, nine NCAA tournament appearances and a Final Four appearance in 1978. Sutton helped lead the Razorbacks to national prominence, including coaching the famed Triplets – Sidney Moncrief, Ron Brewer, and Marvin Delph – Joe Kleine, Scott Hastings, Alvin Robertson, Darrell Walker, and numerous other Razorback greats.

His Arkansas winning percentage of .776 is the highest in the history of the Southwest Conference. He is a member of both the University of Arkansas Sports Hall of Honor, the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame and the Southwest Conference Hall of Fame. In 2011, Sutton was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City, Mo. In April, it was announced that Sutton would be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.