Hall of Fame

John Oldham

John Oldham

  • Class
  • Induction
    1989
  • Sport(s)

John Oldham was an All-American basketball player at Western Kentucky, leading the Hilltoppers to three NIT tournament appearances.  He sub-sequentially was drafted in the second round by the Ft. Wayne Pistons and played professionally for two years.  In 1955, Oldham took over the reins of the basketball program at Tennessee Tech in which he led three teams to NCAA appearances. 

 

After his stint at TTU, Oldham was hired as Western Kentucky head basketball coach after legendary coach E.A. Diddle retired in 1964.  He led the Hilltoppers from 1964-1971 guiding the team to a NIT and several NCAA appearances.  In 1971, Coach Oldham led his team to the Final Four.  In 1971 he gave up his coaching duties and became WKU’s director of athletics. Oldham guided the Hilltopper athletics program until his retirement in 1986.