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Ron Abegglen

1937 – 2018

Basketball coach

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About Ron Abegglen

Lived 1937 – 2018 (aged 81). Ron Abegglen was an American basketball coach and basketball player.

Ron Abegglen (August 19, 1937 – December 19, 2018) was a college basketball coach.

Professional career Abegglen was head coach of the Weber State Wildcats team from 1991 to 1999 and at the University of Alaska-Anchorage Seawolves from 1986 to 1991.

At Weber State, he led the Wildcats to an upset of North Carolina in the first round of the 1999 NCAA Tournament. As of the end of the 2019–20 season, Abegglen is the only coach since the NCAA eliminated first-round byes in 1980 to defeat the Tar Heels in the first round. The Wildcats then pushed Florida to overtime before losing 82–74. Four years earlier, Abegglen's Wildcats, a 14-seed, upset Michigan State 79–72 and came within two points of upsetting Georgetown. The 1995 and 1999 upsets the deepest runs by a Big Sky team since Idaho reached the Sweet 16 in 1982.

In August—just months before the upset of the Tar Heels—Abegglen got in a fight with his then-wife, Nedra, that resulted in Nedra getting a broken wrist. Abegglen was charged with domestic violence. Combined with Weber State already being on NCAA probation after Abegglen was caught giving improper benefits to his players, school president Paul Thompson forced Abegglen to resign at the end of the season regardless of how the Wildcats did on the court. Even after the Wildcats upset North Carolina in the NCAA Tournament, Thompson would not consider allowing Abegglen to return for the 1999–2000 season.

Abegglen is the all-time coaching winning percentage leader of the UAA Seawolves with a lifetime record of 109–45 for a .708 winning percentage. His tenure at UAA was highlighted by a 1989 win over the eventual national champion Michigan Wolverines, 70–66.

He died on December 19, 2018, aged 81.

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
Brigham Young University

People in Ron Abegglen's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Ron Abegglen's

Frequently asked questions

Who was Ron Abegglen?

basketball coach

When was Ron Abegglen born?

Ron Abegglen was born on 19 August 1937 in Vernal.

When did Ron Abegglen die?

Ron Abegglen died on 19 December 2018.

What was Ron Abegglen's occupation?

Ron Abegglen was a basketball coach and basketball player.

What nationality was Ron Abegglen?

Ron Abegglen was American.

Sources & further reading

· Wikipedia: Ron Abegglen

· Wikidata: Q7363449

· DBpedia: Ron Abegglen

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Ron Abegglen. https://biography.guide/ron-abegglen/

MLA: "Ron Abegglen." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/ron-abegglen/.

Chicago: "Ron Abegglen." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/ron-abegglen/.

Data last updated: 2026-09-20 · Spot an error? Report a correction.

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