Teaneck, NJ -- Former Fairleigh Dickinson University men’s basketball head coach Richard "Dick" Holub passed away on Monday, July 27.

Holub coached the Knights from 1949-1966, amassing a .582 win percentage with a 233-167 record. Holub was the first men’s basketball coach in Fairleigh Dickinson history, beginning in the 1949-50 season, where he led the team to a 10-7 record.

In 1951-52, Holub led the Knights to a 22-4 overall record, including a 7-1 mark in the NJIAC, and after winning the NAIA District 31 Playoffs, he guided the Knights to the NAIA National Tournament. In 1953-54, Holub’s Knights went 17-3, including a perfect 9-0 record at home. He led FDU to 16 winning seasons.

Holub was born on October 29, 1921 in Racine, Wisconsin. He played basketball for Long Island University, and, as the team’s leading scorer, guided the Blackbirds to the 1941 National Invitation Tournament title. He was honored as a member of the 1942 Pic Magazine All-American Basketball Team and that same year joined the U.S. Air Force. After four years of service, stationed in the South Pacific working in the Special Services Division, he returned to LIU to finish his collegiate career.

On July 1, 1947, Holub was the drafted with the fifth pick in the first round by the New York Knickerbockers. He started as center and was the leading the scorer, but left the next year to become the first head basketball coach for Fairleigh Dickinson. He was inducted into the FDU Division I Hall of Fame in as part of the inaugural class in September of 1999 and into the LIU Athletics Hall of Fame in 2006.

While coaching, Richard received his M.A. from New York University and Ed.D from Columbia University and later continued his career at FDU as a Professor of English. In 1981 he accepted the position of Academic Advisor to the Athletic Department at the University of Connecticut, where he also continued to teach until his retirement. He is survived by his wife of 39 years, Eileen Zagata Holub of Surprise, AZ; daughters Barbara Strickler, Savannah, GA; Susan Rossi, Mendham, NJ; Karen Holub, Scottsdale, AZ; Jennifer Holub, Portland, OR; and sons Richard Holub, Boonton Township, NJ, and Theodore Holub, El Mirage, AZ; 10 grandchildren and 1 great-grandson.