| Wins against Kentucky - 3 | Losses against Kentucky - 16 |
Alma Mater: Auburn [1951] (*)
Date Born: August 24, 1924
Date Died: November 8, 1993
Overall Record: 135-126 [11 Seasons]

Obituary - Montgomery (AL) Advertiser (November 10, 1993)

Former Auburn Coach Lynn Dies at Age 69

AUBURN - Bill Lynn, who spent 24 years at Auburn as head basketball coach, assistant coach and player, died Monday night at East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika. He was 69.

After taking over for coach Joel Eaves, Lynn recorded the second-highest victory total at that point for an Auburn head coach. In 10 seasons with the Tigers from 1963-73, he compiled a 130-24 overall record. His most successful season occurred in 1966-67, when he led Auburn to a 17-8 overall record and a 12-6 mark in SEC play.

"Coach Lynn was very close to his players and really cared about them," said Carl Shetler, who played for Lynn from 1968-70 and was the team's captain his senior year. "He was a really down-to-earth person and I have the utmost respect for him. He was a great coach and I enjoyed playing for him."

Lynn took over as head coach two weeks before the 1963-64 season and guided the Tigers to an 11-12 overall mark and a 6-9 SEC record. He coached the last seven games of the previous season after Eaves suffered a heart attack. The Tigers, who had an 18-4 record overall, won five of those SEC games and finished second in the SEC with a 10-4 record.

In just his second full season as a head basketball coach in 1965-66, Lynn led Auburn to a 16-9 overall record and an 11-5 SEC record, good for a tie for third place in the conference.

Lynn coached two All-Americans, Lee DeFore and John Mengelt, as well as 12 All-SEC performers.

Lynn's coaching tenure ended with three straight losing season, capped by a 6-20 mark in 1972-73, the worst in school history.

Lynn resigned under pressure after that season and went into the construction business.

Lynn came to Auburn from St. Bernard Junior College in Cullman, Ala., in 1949 and was the Tigers' leading scorer under coach Danny Doyle. He also led the Tigers in scoring, averaging 14.7 points a game, and was the captain on the 1950 team that finished with 17-7 overall record and a 12-6 SEC mark. The team, Eaves' first at Auburn, finished third in the conference.

"Bill was an over-achiever - a person who worked hard and was very competitive," said Don Lanford, who played two seasons with Lynn from 1948-49 to 1949-50. "He was a man who enjoyed people and really trusted people,"

Following his graduation from Auburn in 1951, Lynn joined the physical education department at the school and also coached the freshmen basketball team. He was the chief scout and freshmen coach until 1959, when he was named varsity assistant coach under Eaves. Auburn captured its only regular-season title in 1960. In the fall of 1965, he took on additional duties as a football recruiter.

Lynn is survived by his wife, Martha, two sons, three daughters, and 10 grandchildren. Funeral services will be held today at 2 p.m. at Parkway Baptist Church, with burial at Auburn Memorial Park Cemetery.

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