KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Following a record of success Tony Ingle built on a journey through almost every level of basketball from high school to NCAA Division I, the veteran coach has been selected as the recipient of the 2019 Guardians of the Game Award for Advocacy presented by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Ingle will receive the award on Sunday, April 7, at the AT&T NABC Guardians of the Game Awards Show at the Main Auditorium of the Minneapolis Convention Center. The show, which begins at 6:30 p.m. CT, is held during the annual NABC Convention in conjunction with the NCAA Division I Men’s Final Four. The Guardians of the Game Pillar Awards are presented annually for advocacy, education, leadership and service, the four core values of the NABC.
The show will be broadcast live on Stadium (https://watchstadium.com).
A native of Dalton, Ga., Ingle guided two collegiate teams to national championships. Taking over as head coach at Kennesaw State in 2000, he quickly built the Owls into a national power in NCAA Division II, winning a program record 25 games in 2002-2003 and a first-ever NCAA tournament berth. Building on that performance, Ingle’s Kennesaw team captured its first national title the following season.
He then led KSU’s transition to NCAA Division I in 2005-2006 and in his final season with the Owls (2010-11) achieved a signature win for Kennesaw State, topping Georgia Tech 80-73.
He moved on to Dalton State, having played there for two seasons as an undergraduate, and resurrected the men’s basketball program which had been dormant for 35 years. In just his second season and Dalton’s first year to be eligible for the NAIA tournament, he led the Roadrunners to a national title and was selected as the NAIA Coach of the Year. Over six seasons under Ingle, Dalton State had a 134-33 won-lost record. He retired from coaching after six seasons in July 2018 with an overall coaching record of 319-235 over 17 seasons at four-year colleges.
Ingle began his collegiate coaching career restarting a program in 1985 at Gordon College, where he coached for three seasons, and was the head coach at Alabama-Huntsville. He moved on to NCAA Division I in 1989 serving as an assistant at Brigham Young University. Ingle helped the Cougars to five Western Athletic Conference titles and five NCAA Division I tournament appearances and was the interim head coach for one season.
Ingle is a dynamic motivational speaker and the bishop at the Dalton ward of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
