Doc Sauers obit

Legendary UAlbany men's basketball coach 'Doc' Sauers dies at 96

 

He was not on the list.

Richard "Doc" Sauers, who won more than 700 games while leading the University at Albany men's basketball program for more than four decades, died Monday. He was 96.

UAlbany athletic director Mark Benson confirmed Sauers' death Monday evening. A cause of death was not immediately available.

"Doc Sauers impacted generations of student-athletes, staff and members of the UAlbany community," Benson said in a statement. "He embodied what it means to be a Great Dane - committed, compassionate and deeply invested in the success and well-being of others. Doc built lasting relationships across our program and helped shape the culture of UAlbany athletics in meaningful ways. His legacy will be felt for years to come, and he will be missed tremendously."

Sauers took over the UAlbany program in 1955, when the school was still known as the New York State College for Teachers. He spent 41 seasons as the school's men's basketball coach in two stints - from 1955 to 1987, and then from 1988 to 1997 after missing one season. He posted a 702-330 overall record and Sauers' teams made 11 NCAA Division III tournament appearances, reaching the regional finals in 1977, 1980 and 1994.

The 1985 NCAA Division III Coach of the Year, Sauers was one of just 11 men's basketball coaches with at least 700 career wins at the time of his 1997 retirement.

UAlbany's best season under Sauers came in 1993-94 when the team finished 25-3 and reached the final eight of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

"‘Doc' was Albany basketball," said Jason Graber, a UAlbany Hall of Famer who starred on the 1993-94 team.

UAlbany made seven ECAC playoff appearances under Sauers, winning championships in 1978 and 1989. The Great Danes also made four NAIA tournament appearances during Sauers' tenure.

In his 41 total years running the program, Sauers only had one losing season, which came in UAlbany's first season after moving up from Division III to Division II.

"He was respected around the country," Graber said. "Playing in the SUNYAC (State University of New York Athletic Conference) for all those years, it was just the most-respected program - and he was probably one of the most-respected coaches in the country."

In addition to coaching basketball at UAlbany, Sauers also enjoyed success as the school's men's and women's golf coach, and briefly served as the UAlbany baseball coach in the late 1950s. After retiring from basketball in 1997, he coached women's golf until 2012. He oversaw that program's transition from Division II to Division I, and was selected as the America East Coach of the Year in 2010 after leading the Great Danes to the conference title.

After retiring from coaching, Sauers continued as a special assistant to the athletic director and was a regular presence on campus.

"I work out the days I come in. I work in the fitness center; the bike or the elliptical machines, or walk 10 laps around the gym," Sauers told the Times Union in 2016, when he was being honored for the 60th anniversary of his first basketball season. "That's a mile and a half. I try to keep in pretty good shape. Even when I coached, if we came back from a long trip, I would be in the gym running laps before I went home."

He was elected to the Basketball Coaches Association of New York's Hall of Fame in 1992. He's also a member of the Capital District Sports, UAlbany and Slippery Rock University halls of fame.

From 1975 to 1995, the Great Danes qualified for 10 NCAA tournaments. In 1993–94, UAlbany established a school record for victories with a 25–3 mark, and reached the Division III East Sectional final. UAlbany also qualified for the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) playoffs seven times and won a pair of championships in 1978 and 1989.

He guided the Great Danes to 20-win campaigns on 10 occasions, and his clubs reached the 17-victory plateau in 26 different seasons. He was named the 1985 NCAA Division III Coach of the Year after Albany went 22–6 and gained a national tournament berth. In 1994, he was chosen as both the East Region and New York State Coach of the Year for the third time in his career. Sauers was inducted into the New York State Basketball Hall of Fame in 1992. He has also been enshrined by Slippery Rock University and the Capital District Sports Hall of Fame.

Sauers finished his career with a 702–330 record in 41 seasons. In his final season, UAlbany went 17–10 as a member of the New England Collegiate Conference, and rebounded from his lone losing record the previous year. At the time, Sauers was one of two active coaches with more than 40-plus seasons at the same school. He became the 15th person to coach his 1,000th game at the collegiate level in February 1996.

Soon after retiring as basketball coach, Sauers became coach of the women's golf team, leading it through its transition to Division I. He'd also served as men's golf coach from 1962 to 1973 and as head baseball coach in 1958 and 1959. He retired in 2012 after spending 57 years at UAlbany.