Longtime College Basketball Coach Has Died At 69

Billy Hahn, a former college basketball head coach and national champion assistant at Maryland, has died, the Maryland basketball Twitter account announced Friday.

Hahn suffered a heart attack this week. He was 69.

Hahn, who also played his college basketball at Maryland, spent more than 40 years as a college basketball coach, including two stints as a head coach. He led Ohio University from 1986-89 and La Salle from 2001-04.

Hahn spent 12 years on the coaching staff at Maryland under Gary Williams, helping lead the Terrapins to the 2002 national title. He spent the last 10 seasons of his coaching career as an assistant at West Virginia under Bob Huggins, retiring following the 2016-17 season.

Tributes have poured in on social media for Hahn, who is widely regarded as one of the best characters in college basketball. Among the memories that have resurfaced has been a video of Hahn singing along to "Rapper's Delight" by The Sugarhill Gang on a West Virginia bus trip.

ESPN commentator Fran Fraschilla, UMass coach Frank Martin and college basketball reporter Dana O'Neil are among the many who have paid tribute to Hahn on social media.

"Billy Hahn was one of a kind," Fraschilla tweeted. "He is the reason I became a college coach. ... Most importantly, a dear friend to many, many. A character with character. RIP, Big Brother."

Our thoughts go out to Hahn's loved ones.

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