Kennesaw State University Athletics

KENNESAW, Ga. – When head coach Tony Ingle accepted the position as head coach of the Owls he had a challenge, to make Kennesaw State a winner in basketball. After less than a decade, Ingle has not only made KSU a winner. He now stands alone as the winningest head coach in the program’s history.

Already winning at a higher rate than any coach in the Owls history, last night, with a 71-69 victory over Mercer, Ingle won his 166th game at the helm of the Black and Gold. 

Winning is what Tony Ingle is all about. He never had it easy, not in life, not in basketball. His is a story of perseverance to its highest degree. Numerous facial surgeries dotted his childhood as he grew up in the projects of Dalton, Ga. Marred and made fun of, Ingle had to scrap to survive. He picked out his first pair of sneakers from a dumpster. Actually not a pair, but two different sneakers, that happened to be a left one and a right one.

Practicing by himself and ridiculed by the youngsters in town, Ingle developed survival skills at a young age. Scrappy and fiery he would fight on occasion, but never did he give up.

He went on to become a star player in high school, gaining a legion of friends and well-wishers who still stand by his side. He went on to play ball at Dalton Junior College, where he led his team to a pair of national tournaments. Starting at point guard, with his father watching him play for the first time, Ingle suffered a career-ending knee-injury minutes into the first game of the tournament.

Vowing to win a national championship as a coach, Ingle led Cherokee High School to its first-ever state championship final, where he had a roster without a player standing over 6-foor-1-inch. His team was defeated in the championship game … by one point.

Moving his family to Utah, he joined the Brigham Young staff as an assistant coach and after seven years he got the chance of a lifetime as he become head coach of the Cougars. Ingle was the interim head coach of a team that had to pull four players from the football team to fill the roster. A no-win situation, he was 0-19 … and dismissed.

Out of basketball he held numerous jobs, too many to count actually, until he heard of an opening at Kennesaw State. Told to apply by longtime friend and former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins, Ingle reluctantly thought it through, but checked with his family, his most prized possession. Not wanting to move his two high-school aged sons across country he was reluctant to accept the position. However, sons Israel and Tony Jr., like their father, thought more of their dad than themselves, and told him to accept the position.

Headed south, Ingle took over the reigns at Kennesaw State in the summer of 2000 and with the drive, determination and purpose that transcended his life, he quickly guided a team that lacked direction into one of the most respected and feared programs in the country.

His first season saw the Owls peak at the end of the year and just missing the post-season as the Owls lost a three-way tiebreaker for the final conference post-season berth. The following season saw a nine-game improvement as Ingle and the Owls enjoyed the first of four straight 20-win seasons.

Twenty-five wins and the Owls first-ever NCAA Division II National Tournament appearance followed the next year as the Owls won their first national tournament game, defeating Virginia Union.

Magic happened the following season as the doors came crashing in as the Owls defeated Southern Indiana in front of a national television audience for the 2004 NCAA Division II National Championship. The Owls won 35 games, Ingle was named National Coach of the Year and Kennesaw State became the first-ever school from the state of Georgia to win an NCAA national championship in men’s basketball.

With rumblings of a move to Division I in the works, the Owls won over 20 games for the fourth consecutive year and made their third straight trip to the national tournament as Ingle said goodbye to Division II and welcomed a return back to the Division I level.

It didn’t take long for Ingle to claim his first Division I win and it came against legendary head coach Billy Tubbs and his Lamar squad. Playing in the prestigious BP Top of the World Classic in Anchorage, Ingle again shocked the basketball community as he led his Owls to a double-digit win in the Owls second DI game.

That was only the beginning of what was in store for Ingle in his first Division I season. Expectations were tempered by the time the Owls made their Atlantic Sun Conference debut at the new KSU Convocation Center.

Waiting for Ingle and his squad were perennial powerhouses Lipscomb and Belmont and they were ready to deal a harsh welcome to the conference’s newest member. Ingle had other ideas. In three nights the Owls had toppled both squads and were atop the A-Sun standings.

Despite the brief success, expectations remained low around the conference. In fact some called it an aberration. What followed was an amazing run that garnered the attention of not only the A-Sun, but also the nation.

 Coming back from the New Year, then conference member Florida Atlantic came to town and dealt the Owls a loss. Down, but never out, Ingle revived his team and won … and won … and won. Seven straight victories all told and the first year Owls had a 9-1 record in the A-Sun and Ingle’s picture appeared as a feature on ESPN.com.

Ingle had put the Owls on the map. Not only with his intellect and savvy as a coach, but through his commitment to his players, the administration and most importantly his family.
A decade after taking a leap of faith and moving his family across the country, Ingle paced the sidelines, towel in hand as his Owls are tangled in an epic struggle with rival Mercer. Would this milestone win come easy?

Like all of the challenges Ingle faced throughout his life, this win would be a reflection of his struggle. The game remained undecided with a minute remaining, the ebb-and-flow of a titanic struggle saw 15 ties, 13 lead changes, controversial calls against him, a hostile crowd and with four seconds left and a two-point lead, a loose ball trickled out of bounds indicating an Owls win, BUT … the ball went back to Mercer for one last shot.

Defense is the crucial part of the Owls puzzle under Ingle. “Defense wins championships and signifies a winner,” he has always said, and while this game’s struggle defined his life, Tony Ingle himself defined the outcome. Kennesaw State 71, Mercer 69.

Tony Ingle’s Kennesaw State Coaching Milestones
2000-Present | 10th Season at Kennesaw State | KSU Record - 166-134, .553 |

NCAA Division II National Championship
March 27, 2004 - Bakersfield, Calif.
Southern Indiana, 84-59

1st Win
November 22, 2000 - Kennesaw, Ga.
North Georgia, 89-67

50th Win
February 12, 2003 - Kennesaw, Ga.
Columbus State, 93-77

100th Win
December 18, 2004 - Kennesaw, Ga.
Tusculum, 71-62

150th Win
February 19, 2008 - Macon, Ga.
at Mercer, 65-61

165th Win
January 24, 2010 - DeLand, Fla.
at Stetson, 75-59

166th Win
January 27, 1010 - Macon, Ga.
at Mercer, 71-69

1st Peach Belt Win
January 24, 2001 - Kennesaw, Ga.
Augusta State, 70-64

1st Atlantic Sun Conference Win
December 1, 2005 - Kennesaw, Ga.
Lipscomb, 67-66

1st NCAA Division I Win
November 19, 2005 - Anchorage, Alaska
Lamar, 79-60

1st Peach Belt Conference Tournament Win
February 27, 2002 - Augusta, Ga.
Francis Marion, 96-83

1st NCAA Division II Tournament Win
March 14, 2003 - Columbus, Ga.
Virginia Union, 74-65