Raleigh announced as assistant athletic director; steps down as head men’s basketball coach
Posted: Aug 27, 2014
GEORGETOWN, Texas – Director of Athletics Dr. Glada Munt
announced Wednesday that Bill Raleigh will step down as head men's
basketball coach to assume the role of assistant athletic director
full-time effective immediately. He will also continue his roles as
Chair of the Exercise and Sports Studies and Fitness and
Recreational Activities programs.
Raleigh has served as the assistant athletic director in a
part-time capacity for 9 years and was promoted to the Chair of
Exercise & Sports Science department in 2012.
"I am very appreciative to President Burger, Vice-President for
Student Life Jerry Brody and Director of Athletics Dr. Glada Munt
for the opportunity to move full time into athletic administration
and for the support and confidence they have shown me over the last
15 years," said Raleigh. "Although I will miss coaching and the
relationships with the student-athletes on that level, I am excited
about the challenge of administration and am looking forward to
this new chapter in my career."
For 15 years Coach Raleigh guided the Pirates on the basketball
court and built the team into a tough, competitive ball club that
finished as high as third in the SCAC in his tenure. In 2004-05,
Raleigh led the Pirates to their best record ever, 20-7 overall and
11-3 in the SCAC, earning a #1 seed in the conference tournament
for the first-time in school history. He captured his second career
SCAC Coach of the Year honor and had the SCAC Player of the Year in
Aaron Bowser.
Coach Raleigh produced 34 All-SCAC selections during his tenure
and coached two 1,000 point scorers. The Pirates have finished in
third place in the SCAC twice (2004-05 and 2005-06) under Raleigh
and advanced to the SCAC Conference Tournament championship game in
2009.
Assistant Coach Janson Hightower has been promoted to head coach
of the men's basketball team. "I am very proud to hand the program
off to Coach Hightower who will do an excellent job of taking the
program to the next level," said Coach Raleigh. He is a very good
young coach who has been a major contributor to the program over
the last couple of years as an assistant and is definitely ready to
excel as a college basketball head coach."
A graduate from Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA in 1988 with
a bachelor's degree in business administration, Coach Raleigh
earned his juris doctor degree from Seton Hall University's School
of Law.
Coach Raleigh came to Southwestern after spending three years as
the head men's basketball coach and head golf coach at the
University of Dallas (1996-1999). Before his first head coaching
position he was an assistant coach for a number of years at
Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA, as well as an assistant at
Washington & Lee in Lexington, VA.
"This is an exciting time in athletics with over 475
student-athletes and the recent additions of football and women's
lacrosse. I am looking forward to the challenge of helping our
coaches and student-athletes achieve greatness in all that we
do."