Don Corbett
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Don Corbett
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| current_record =
| contract =
| birth_date = {{birth date|1942|10|5}}
| birth_place = Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2018|9|12|1942|10|5}}
| death_place = Greensboro, North Carolina, U.S.
| alma_mater = Lincoln University (MO)
| player_years1 =
| player_team1 =
| coach_years1 = 1965–1967
| coach_team1 = Carver HS
| coach_years2 = 1967–1968
| coach_team2 = South Carolina State (assistant)
| coach_years3 = 1968–1971
| coach_team3 = Tennessee State (assistant)
| coach_years4 = 1971–1979
| coach_team4 = Lincoln (MO)
| coach_years5 = 1979–1993
| coach_team5 = North Carolina A&T
| overall_record = 413–204 ({{Winning percentage|413|204}})
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record = 0–7 (NCAA Division I)
6–5 (NCAA Division II)
0–1 (NIT)
| championships = 7 MEAC regular season (1981, 1982, 1984–1986, 1988, 1992)
7 MEAC tournament (1982–1988)
3 MIAA regular season (1972, 1975, 1977)
MIAA tournament (1977)
| awards = 6× MEAC Coach of the Year (1982–1986, 1988)
| coaching_records =
}}
Don Corbett (October 5, 1942 – September 12, 2018) was an American college basketball coach for North Carolina A&T State University, where he led the program to seven NCAA tournament appearances from 1982 to 1988.{{cite news|last1=Mills|first1=Jeff|title=Don Corbett, former A&T basketball coach, dies|url=https://www.greensboro.com/sports/ncat/don-corbett-former-a-t-basketball-coach-dies/article_08e285b3-6e02-5888-bd4a-c2845ec56cb7.html|access-date=September 15, 2018|work=News & Record|date=September 13, 2018}}
Corbett was born in Columbus, Georgia and raised in Thomasville.{{cite news|title=Don Corbett obituary|url=https://www.greensboro.com/obituaries/corbett-don/article_41121ecc-9149-57d2-82ac-2eaef8703d54.html|access-date=September 15, 2018|work=News & Record|date=September 14, 2018}} After graduating from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri and obtaining his master's degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, Corbett began his coaching career at Carver High School in Columbus, Georgia. After assistant coaching stints at South Carolina State and Tennessee State, he became head coach at Lincoln in 1971.{{cite news|title=Corbett gets basketball job at Lincoln U.|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23982080/the_sunday_news_and_tribune/|newspaper=Jefferson City News Tribune|date=August 1, 1971|page=13|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = September 20, 2018}} {{Open access}}
At NCAA Division II Lincoln, Corbett led his teams to an eight-year 159–59 record from 1971 to 1979. During that time, the Blue Tigers won three Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) regular season championships (1972, 1975 and 1977) and one MIAA tournament title (1977). His teams earned five NCAA Division II tournament appearances (1972, 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978) and never won fewer than 17 games in a season. Corbett's .729 winning percentage is the highest in program history. In 2014 he was named to the MIAA Hall of Fame.{{cite news|last1=Carr|first1=Dan|title=Former LU coach Don Corbett to be inducted into MIAA hall of fame|url=https://lubluetigers.com/news/2014/3/31/MBB_0331141839.aspx?mobile=skip|access-date=September 15, 2018|work=lubluetigers.com|date=March 31, 2014|archive-date=September 15, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180915225634/https://lubluetigers.com/news/2014/3/31/MBB_0331141839.aspx?mobile=skip|url-status=dead}}
In 1979, Corbett moved to Division I North Carolina A&T. After an initial rebuilding season where his Aggies went 8–19, Corbett's teams ran off a string of eight consecutive seasons winning either the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) regular season or tournament championship (winning both in five seasons). The Aggies program won seven consecutive MEAC tournament titles between 1982 and 1988, a streak only equaled in Division I history by the Kentucky Wildcats.{{cite news|last1=Dell|first1=John|title=Legend: Don Corbett led the Aggies to seven consecutive MEAC Tournament championships A&T|url=https://www.journalnow.com/sports/colleges/basketball/legend-don-corbett-led-the-aggies-to-seven-consecutive-meac/article_9d807609-686d-5590-ab82-ffc1739bbe50.html|access-date=September 15, 2018|work=Winston-Salem Journal|date=March 8, 2009}} Corbett retired in 1993 with a 256–145 record in his thirteen seasons.
Corbett was inducted into several basketball halls of fame - including the MEAC Hall of Fame, the Guilford County Sports Hall of Fame, the MIAA Hall of Fame and the Lincoln University Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2006, North Carolina A&T named the court of the Corbett Sports Center after Corbett and fellow Aggie coaching great Cal Irvin.{{cite news|last1=Williams|first1=Callenna|title=Renowned A&T basketball coach, Don Corbett, dies at 75|url=https://hbcugameday.com/2018/09/13/renowned-ncat-lincoln-mo-basketball-coach-don-corbett-dies-at-75/|access-date=September 15, 2018|work=hbcugameday.com|date=September 13, 2018}}
Head coaching record
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Lincoln Blue Tigers
| conference = Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association
| startyear = 1971
| endyear = 1979
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| season = 1971–72
| name = Lincoln
| overall = 22–6
| conference = 11–1
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA College Division Sweet Sixteen
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1972–73
| name = Lincoln
| overall = 19–7
| conference = 9–3
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1973–74
| name = Lincoln
| overall = 18–8
| conference = 7–5
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| season = 1974–75
| name = Lincoln
| overall = 19–9
| conference = 9–3
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA Division II Sweet Sixteen
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1975–76
| name = Lincoln
| overall = 20–8
| conference = 8–4
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division II First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = confboth
| season = 1976–77
| name = Lincoln
| overall = 22–6
| conference = 11–1
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA Division II First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1977–78
| name = Lincoln
| overall = 22–6
| conference = 9–3
| confstanding =
| postseason = NCAA Division II Elite Eight
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1978–79
| name = Lincoln
| overall = 17–9
| conference = 7–5
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Lincoln
| overall = 159–59 ({{Winning percentage|159|59}})
| confrecord = 71–25 ({{Winning percentage|71|25}})
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = North Carolina A&T Aggies
| conference = Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference
| startyear = 1979
| endyear = 1993
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1979–80
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 8–19
| conference = 0–6
| confstanding = 5th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| season = 1980–81
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 21–8
| conference = 7–3
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NIT First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = confboth
| season = 1981–82
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 19–9
| conference = 10–2
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA Division I First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference tournament
| season = 1982–83
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 23–8
| conference = 9–3
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason = NCAA Division I First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = confboth
| season = 1983–84
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 22–7
| conference = 9–1
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA Division I First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = confboth
| season = 1984–85
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 19–10
| conference = 10–2
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA Division I First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = confboth
| season = 1985–86
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 22–8
| conference = 12–2
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA Division I First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference tournament
| season = 1986–87
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 24–6
| conference = 12–2
| confstanding = 2nd
| postseason = NCAA Division I First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = confboth
| season = 1987–88
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 26–3
| conference = 16–0
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA Division I First Round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1988–89
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 9–18
| conference = 6–10
| confstanding = T–6th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1989–90
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 12–17
| conference = 6–10
| confstanding = 6th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1990–91
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 17–10
| conference = 10–6
| confstanding = T–2nd
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = conference
| season = 1991–92
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 18–9
| conference = 11–4
| confstanding = T–1st
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 1992–93
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 14–13
| conference = 9–7
| confstanding = T–2nd
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = North Carolina A&T
| overall = 254–145 ({{Winning percentage|254|145}})
| confrecord = 127–58 ({{Winning percentage|127|58}})
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
| overall = 413–204 ({{Winning percentage|413|204}})
}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/coaches/don-corbett-1.html Coaching record @ sports-reference.com]
{{North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Corbett, Don}}
Category:American men's basketball coaches
Category:Basketball coaches from Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Category:High school basketball coaches in Georgia (U.S. state)
Category:Lincoln Blue Tigers men's basketball coaches
Category:Lincoln University (Missouri) alumni
Category:North Carolina A&T Aggies men's basketball coaches
Category:South Carolina State Bulldogs basketball coaches
Category:Sportspeople from Thomasville, Georgia