Mr. John Oldham

(Inducted in 2002)

John Oldham, a former professional athlete, a Hilltopper All-American, coach and athletic director, becomes a member of his seventh hall of fame with his induction into the WKU Hall of Distinguished Alumni.

He's also been inducted into the Lions Club Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1969), Kentucky Athletic Hall of Fame (1986), Ohio Valley Conference Hall of Fame (1989), Kentucky High School Hall of Fame (1990), Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame (1990) and WKU Athletic Hall of Fame (1991).

Oldham, a native of Hartford, came to Western in 1942 to play basketball for Coach E.A. Diddle after earning All-State honors at Hartford High School. After his freshman season at Western, Oldham served in the U.S. Navy for three years during World War II.

He returned to Western in 1946. In 1949, Oldham received his bachelor's degree along with numerous All-American honors for his basketball play.

Oldham played two seasons for the NBA's Fort Wayne (now Detroit) Pistons before returning to Bowling Green in 1952 to begin his coaching career at College High School. In his first year, the College High team advanced to the boys' state tournament.

After four years of high school coaching, Oldham took over as head coach at Tennessee Tech. During nine years there, his teams won or tied for three Ohio Valley Conference championships.

In 1964, Oldham returned to Western as head basketball coach, replacing his mentor, E.A. Diddle. Over the next seven years, Oldham's Hilltopper teams won 78 percent of their games, won four OVC championships and played in five postseason national tournaments (four NCAA and one NIT), including a third-place NCAA finish in 1971.

Oldham, who was named OVC coach of the year four times, retired as basketball coach after the 1971 Final Four season and took over as WKU's athletic director, a position he held until 1986. During his tenure as athletic director, Western won six OVC All-Sports Championships and one Sun Belt Conference All-Sports Championship.

Since his retirement in 1986, Oldham has remained a fixture in the Western and Bowling Green community. He has served on numerous boards and committees and was a Bowling Green city commissioner for three terms.

Oldham and his wife, Bobbie, have two children (John Robert and Suzanne) and three grandchildren (Max, Demi and Devon).