RICHMOND, Ky. – Guy Strong, who as head coach led the Eastern Kentucky University men's basketball team to the 1972 Ohio Valley Conference Championship and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, passed away on May 18 at the age of 93.
 
Visitation will be Saturday, May 25, from 4 to 6 p.m. at Scobee Funeral Home.  Funeral Services will be Sunday, May 26 at 2 p.m.  Burial will follow at the Oak Dale Cemetery, Irvine, Kentucky.
 
Strong also played for EKU in 1954-55, helping head coach Paul McBrayer's squad win the 1955 OVC title.  Strong began his collegiate playing career at the University of Kentucky where he was a member of the Wildcats' 1951 national championship team.  He served on active duty in the Korean War from 1952-54.
 
Strong was the head coach at EKU from 1967 to 1973.  In the 1972 NCAA Tournament, the Colonels lost to eventual national runner-up Florida State by just two points, 83-81.  Strong was chosen as the OVC Coach of the Year that season.
 
"The entire EKU family is saddened by the news of the passing of coach Guy Strong.  Our hearts go out to his family, friends, former players and coaches, and the many lives he touched during his impressive career," Interim Director of Athletics Dan McBride said.  "We are so thankful that we were able to spend time with coach Strong this past fall when his 1971-72 team was inducted into the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame.  His passing is a great loss for all Colonel fans and the entire basketball community."
 
Before taking over the program at EKU, Strong was the head coach at Kentucky Wesleyan, where he led that program to the 1966 NCAA Division II National Championship.  He earned the NABC Division II National Coach of the Year award that season. 
 
Strong also played baseball at Kentucky and EKU.  He also served as the head basketball coach at Oklahoma State University and George Rogers Clark High School.  He was inducted into the Kentucky High School Athletics Hall of Fame in 1993, the Kentucky Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002 and the EKU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017.