Wendell Gale Catlett (born October 31, 1940) is a retired American basketball coach who was head coach at the University of Cincinnati and West Virginia University.
Born in Hedgesville, West Virginia, Catlett played for West Virginia from 1958 to 1963. He played on the freshman team in 1958âÂÂ59, but missed the 1959âÂÂ60 season with a broken wrist. During his three varsity seasons (1960âÂÂ61 through 1962âÂÂ63), he helped the Mountaineers to two NCAA tournament berths. West Virginia went 24âÂÂ4, 24âÂÂ6 and 23âÂÂ8 during Catlett's varsity seasons and won the Southern Conference title every season. The 6-foot-5 forward totaled 407 points and 275 rebounds on Coach George King's guard-oriented teams.
After completing his senior season in 1963, Catlett immediately turned to coaching. He got a job as an assistant coach at the University of Richmond under head coach Lew Mills, then at Davidson College in 1965 under Lefty Driesell, Kansas from 1967 to 1971 under Ted Owens, and finally Kentucky under Adolph Rupp in the 1971âÂÂ72 season.
In 1972, Gale Catlett was named head coach of University of Cincinnati, succeeding Tay Baker, whose team had gone 17âÂÂ9 the year before. In Catlett's first season, 1972âÂÂ73, the Bearcats were also 17âÂÂ9, and they improved to 19âÂÂ8 the following year. It was the 1974âÂÂ75 season that Catlett and the Bearcats reached national prominence. Led by a crop of highly touted recruits including Pat Cummings, Brian Williams, Robert Miller, Mike Jones, Gary Yoder and Steve Collier, the Bearcats were 23âÂÂ6 and advanced to the NCAA Midwest Regional semifinals. By 1975âÂÂ76, the team won the Metro Conference, posted a 25âÂÂ6 record and were expected to make a deep run into the tournament, but the Bearcats were upset in the first round on a last-second tip-in by Notre Dame. During the three seasons from 1974âÂÂ75 through 1976âÂÂ77, the Bearcats were consistently ranked in the AP Poll, reaching as high as #2 in January 1977. That season, the Bearcats were 25âÂÂ5 and again won the Metro Conference, but they were again ousted in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
In six seasons at Cincinnati, Catlett posted a record of 126âÂÂ44 (a .741 winning percentage). He left Cincinnati after a 17âÂÂ10 season and under a cloud after the basketball program was penalized by the NCAA for numerous recruiting violations during his tenure.
In 1978, he took over the head coaching job at West Virginia. During the decade before his arrival, the Mountaineers were 116âÂÂ121. Over the next 24 seasons, he posted a 439âÂÂ276 record. Catlett's West Virginia teams won an average of 19 games a season and made eight trips to the NCAA tournament, including a 1998 Sweet 16 appearance, where they upset a highly touted Cincinnati team. In 1997, he was nominated as the Big East Coach of the Year, but failed to win as John MacLeod took that honor. On February 13, 2002, at age 61, he announced his retirement. He had a career college coaching record of 565âÂÂ320.
In late 2005 Catlett publicly stated that he was considering running in the 2006 Republican primary in order to challenge incumbent Democratic Senator Robert Byrd. He later declined to run.