Former Ohio Wesleyan men's basketball coach Gene Mehaffey will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday at the Hyatt Regency in Columbus.

Mehaffey will be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2021.  The event is scheduled to begin at 4:30 p.m. with the induction of the 2020 class, followed by dinner at 6 p.m., and the induction of the 2021 class at 7:30 p.m.

Mehaffey will be the fifth Ohio Wesleyan player or coach to be inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame, following Barry Clemens '65 (2009), coach Frank Shannon (2010), Scott Tedder '88 (2011), and Jud Millhon '51 (2016).  The 1987-88 Battling Bishop men's basketball team that Mehaffey coached was inducted in 2011.

Mehaffey served as Ohio Wesleyan's men's basketball coach for 20 seasons, compiling a record of 283-247.  During his 20 seasons at Ohio Wesleyan, the Bishops won or shared 4 North Coast Athletic Conference titles and claimed 3 conference tournament crowns.  In addition, Mehaffey garnered 2 NCAC Coach of the Year honors. 

The pinnacle of Mehaffey's career came in the 1987-88 season, when the Bishops captured Ohio Wesleyan's first NCAA Division III national team championship in any sport.  En route, the Bishops won a school-record 27 games, tied for the NCAC championship and won the NCAC tournament for the third time.  Mehaffey was recognized as the NCAA Division III and Ohio Coach of the Year, as well as NCAC Coach of the Year for the second time.

Mehaffey came to Ohio Wesleyan from Carson-Newman (Tenn.) College, where he spent 11 years as basketball coach and 10 years as athletics director.  His Eagle teams, 7 of which competed in the NAIA District 24 playoffs, combined for a 242-137 record.  Mehaffey was named the NAIA District Coach of the Year in 1970, 1972 and 1973, and was Area V Coach of the Year in 1970.  Carson Newman's 31 wins in 1973 were more than any other U.S. team — NAIA or NCAA — that season.

He had a 525-384 record in 31 seasons as a head basketball coach and was the 11th coach in NCAA Division III history to reach the 500-win mark.

A magna cum laude graduate of Tennessee Wesleyan Junior College, where he started for both the hardwood and tennis teams, Mehaffey continued to play both sports at Southern Methodist University, where he earned his B.S. degree in physical education in 1954.  Mehaffey earned both his master's and doctoral degrees, again in physical education, from Indiana University in 1955 and 1966 respectively, graduating with honors.

He was inducted into the Ohio Wesleyan Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999 and was inducted into Tennessee Wesleyan's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983. 

For more information about the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame, or to purchase tickets for the event, click here.