Tom Blackburn

Alma Mater: 

Wilmington (OH)

Class of: 

1931

Hometown: 
Peebles, OH
  • Coached Dayton to NIT title in 1962. Reached NIT semifinals in 1951 (2nd), 1952 (2nd) 1955 (2nd), 1956 (2nd), 1958 (2nd) and 1961 (4th)
  • Guided Dayton to nation's best record among more than 30 independent schools in 1951
  • Final Top 20 Rankings (nine: AP/UPI)--1951 (13/18), 1952 (11/18), 1954 (NR/17), 1955 (9/10), 1956 (3/3), 1957 (NR/12), 1958 (11/9), 1960 (NR/20) and 1961 (NR/17)
  • All-Americans (four): Bill Chmielewski (1962), John Horan (1955), Don Meineke (1951 and 1952) and Bill Uhl (1956).
Record: 

Season

School

Overall

League

Finish

Conference (Division)

Postseason (Record)

1947-48

Dayton

12-14

DNP

1948-49

Dayton

16-14

NCIT (1-1)

1949-50

Dayton

24-8

DNP

1950-51

Dayton

27-5

NIT (3-1)

1951-52

Dayton

28-5

NCAA (1-1)

1952-53

Dayton

16-13

DNP

1953-54

Dayton

25-7

NIT (1-1)

1954-55

Dayton

25-4

NIT (2-1)

1955-56

Dayton

25-4

NIT (2-1)

1956-57

Dayton

19-9

NIT (1-1)

1957-58

Dayton

25-4

NIT (2-1)

1958-59

Dayton

14-12

DNP

1959-60

Dayton

21-7

NIT (1-1)

1960-61

Dayton

20-9

NIT (1-2)

1961-62

Dayton

24-6

NIT (4-0)

1962-63

Dayton

16-10

Probation

1963-64

Dayton

15-10

Probation

NOTE: Blackburn died March 6, 1964, a little over one day before Dayton's final game. Assistant Don Donoher handled the team in the Flyers' last three outings although the contest are part of Blackburn's record.

  • 17-Year Coaching Record: 352-141 (.714) at Dayton
  • 1-1 (.500) in NCAA Tournament
  • 20-10 (.667) in NIT
  • 1-1 (.500) in National Catholic Invitational Tournament