From Washburn Media Relations
Gene Cassell, Sports Information Director
TOPEKA, Kan. – Washburn University has announced the playing surface inside Lee Arena will be now known as “Bob Chipman Court” honoring the 38-year Ichabod head basketball coach Bob Chipman who is retiring at the end of the season. A formal ceremony will take place prior to tip of the Ichabods’ final regular season home game against Northeastern State approximately 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 25.
“I am very honored and humbled to have my name on the court,” Chipman said. “It is such an honor for myself and my family. There are so many people who have had a hand in this happening over the years from my former players to the fans and I hope they all feel that they are a part of this.”
Chipman has been a mainstay on the Washburn sidelines since becoming an assistant coach for three seasons starting during the 1976-77 season and then was promoted to head coach for the start of the 1979-80 season. From that point on Chipman has led the Ichabods to unparalleled success with 805 wins during that stretch. He is the all-time winningest MIAA basketball coach in victories with 566 since the 1990-91 season when the Ichabods moved to the NCAA ranks.
“Coach Chipman has committed his professional career to Washburn University,” said President Dr. Jerry Farley. “He has had a positive impact on hundreds of young men. In recognition of his loyalty and contribution, the court will be named Bob Chipman Court.”
At Washburn he led the Ichabods to the 1987 NAIA National Championship in Kansas City as well as to 12 conference titles with 10 coming in the MIAA. He has also coached Washburn to an MIAA-record five MIAA Tournament Championships.
“For the dedication and success he has had at Washburn, this is a fitting tribute to Bob and his family who have accomplished so much at Washburn,” Washburn University Athletic Director Loren Ferré said. “We are looking forward to the presentation prior to the game with Northeastern State on Saturday honoring coach Chipman and his family.”
Under Chipman, the Ichabods have made 12 NCAA Tournament appearances including a national finals appearance in 2001 and back-to-back Elite Eight runs in 1993 and 1994.
Chipman’s 805 wins ranks third among NCAA Division II coaches and sixth all-time in NCAA Division II history. Among all NCAA levels, his win total is 17th. With an overall record of 805-352, his .697 winning percentage is 19th in NCAA Division II active coaches.
Individually, he has coached 23 All-Americans, 25 all-region selections, eight MIAA most valuable players, 17 all-MIAA first-team selections and 64 all-MIAA honorees since joining the NCAA ranks.
Chipman has guided his teams to 23 20-win seasons, including seven in a row from 1983-84 to 1989-90, four in a row from 1991-92 to 1994-95 and seven in a row from 1998-99 to 2004-05. Chipman’s teams have made 16 national tournament appearances, 12 in the NCAA and four in the NAIA. His teams have averaged 22 wins a year and he has coached 23 of the 25 20-win seasons in Washburn history.
In addition to the coaching awards obtained after the 1986-87 NAIA Championship season, Chipman was named MIAA Coach of the Year following the 1992, 1993 and 2004 seasons. He was named Kodak District coach of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in 1993 and the men’s four-year coach of the year by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association (KBCA) in 1994 and 2001.
His success at the collegiate level has brought Chipman the opportunity to coach on an international level as well. He served a second stint as an assistant coach for the United State’s entry in the Pan American Games during the summer of 1991, earning a bronze medal. In 1983, he was an assistant to the team that won the gold medal. He helped coach the U.S. entry in the World University Games to a gold medal in 1989. In 1985, he was an assistant coach for the Amateur Basketball Association/USA Jones Cup Team that won a silver medal.
Chipman has also taken the Washburn team on international trips, most recently visiting the Baltic Sea in the summer of 2012. Other trips included tours in China, France and the former Yugoslavia.
Chipman and his wife, Carol, live in Topeka. Their daughter Kelsey was a four-year letterwinner on the Kansas State volleyball team and Bobby was a four-year member of the Ichabod basketball team.
In games played in Topeka, Chipman has gone 419-85 in Lee Arena and 470-96 overall counting Whiting Fieldhouse.