Gale Catlett

Wendell Gale Catlett (born October 31, 1940) is a retired American basketball coach who was head coach at the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University.

Playing career Born in Hedgesville, West Virginia, Catlett played for West Virginia from 1958 to 1963. He played on the freshman team in 1958–59, but missed the 1959–60 season with a broken wrist. The 6-foot-5 forward totaled 407 points and 275 rebounds on Coach George King's guard-oriented teams.

Assistant coach After completing his senior season in 1963, Catlett immediately turned to coaching. He got a job as an assistant coach at the University of Richmond under head coach Lew Mills, then at Davidson College in 1965 under Lefty Driesell, Kansas from 1967 to 1971 under Ted Owens, and finally Kentucky under Adolph Rupp in the 1971–72 season. That season, the Bearcats were 25–5 and again won the Metro Conference, but they were again ousted in the first round of the NCAA tournament.

In six seasons at Cincinnati, Catlett posted a record of 126–44 (a .741 winning percentage).

In 1978, he took over the head coaching job at West Virginia. During the decade before his arrival, the Mountaineers were 116–121. Over the next 24 seasons, he posted a 439–276 record. On February 13, 2002, at age 61, he announced his retirement. He had a career college coaching record of 565–320. He later declined to run.

Head coaching record