| Wins against Kentucky - 3 | Losses against Kentucky - 9 |
Alma Mater: East Texas State
Hometown: Flushing, NY
Date Born: July 17, 1935
Date Died: May 5, 2001
Overall Record: 83-88 [7 Seasons]

Obituary - University of North Carolina Gazette (May 23, 2001)

Coach, mentor and friend to student-athletes dies

For much of his life John Lotz was a basketball coach, but the lives he touched and the legacy he left reach far beyond a bench on the sidelines.

Lotz died May 5 after a brief illness. He was 64.

People who knew him best said Lotz did more than coach a game. He taught life. Kay Thomas and Angela Lee, who have worked in the University's basketball office for years, both have the "inspirational tapes" Lotz made for them filled with some of his lessons.

Thomas said the two things she remembers most about Lotz were his sense of humor and his faith. Both were in ample abundance on the tapes, she said.

And his faith, as much as his love for basketball, was in the family blood, Thomas said. His father was a Baptist minister. His brother Danny, who played on Carolina's NCAA championship men's basketball team in 1957, ended up a dentist and married to the daughter of evangelist Billy Graham.

Dean Smith said his friendship with Lotz began when Lotz joined his coaching staff in 1965. Over the years, their friendship grew into a special bond. "John was certainly a great influence on me and so many other people," Smith said. "John was like a brother to me."

A native of Flushing, N.Y., Lotz attended Baylor University before transferring to East Texas State where he received both his bachelor's and master's degrees. In 1960, he began his coaching career at a high school in Norwich, N.Y., then coached three seasons in Massapequa, N.Y., before coming to Carolina to coach with Smith.

Bill Guthridge met Lotz in 1967 when he joined Lotz on Smith's staff. "We have always had a great friendship," Guthridge said. "I admire John as one of the greatest people I ever knew. He will be missed by so many people."

Lotz coached with Smith and Guthridge through the 1972-73 season, a span in which their teams advanced to the NCAA Final Four a total of four times -- in 1967, 1968, 1969 and 1972.

In 1973, Lotz was named head coach of the University of Florida. In 1977, his team went 17-9 and United Press International selected Lotz as the Southeastern Conference Coach of the Year. That same year, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes named him National Coach of the Year.

Upon returning to Chapel Hill in 1980, Lotz directed Carolina's community outreach program. He involved hundreds of student-athletes in his many volunteer projects. He initiated the Thanksgiving food drive for underprivileged families. He helped raise thousands of dollars through the Juvenile Diabetes Walkathon. He collected clothing for the needy.

In 1999, he received the Governor's Award for Excellence for Crime Prevention in recognition of the work he did with youth in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The Chapel Hill police summer basketball camp is named in his honor.

"Everyone who ever played for him or worked with him in outreach programs had tremendous respect for John," Smith said. "He truly helped so many people in basketball and in life. We are all thinking of his wife, Vicki, and his two daughters, Corrie and Laci. Our hearts and prayers go out to them." (Corrie is a doctor in Atlanta and Laci is a teacher in Chapel Hill.)

Donations may be made to the John Lotz Fellowship of Christian Athletes Scholarship Fund, 6339 Glenwood Ave., Suite 451, Raleigh, N.C. 27612. Proceeds will be used to send youth from North Carolina to summer camps.

"John was a mentor, counselor and friend to countless student-athletes," said Carolina Athletic Director Dick Baddour. "Many people across the state and the nation, especially young people, first learned of the University through John's good works and good words and he represented our University with nothing but class and dignity."

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