Bill Menefee, a Baylor Hall of Fame inductee and former Baylor basketball coach and athletic director, died Thursday in Waco at the age of 95. Funeral services are scheduled for 10 a.m. next Saturday, Dec. 17, at Austin Avenue United Methodist Church in Waco (1300 Austin Avenue). Visitation will be held from 6 to 8 p.m., Friday, Dec. 16, at Wilkirson-Hatch-Bailey Funeral Home (6101 Bosque Boulevard).

Menefee originally came to Baylor in 1947 as a physical education teacher and assistant basketball coach under Bill Henderson. Taking the reins of the varsity basketball program in 1961 when Henderson retired, Menefee had a 12-year record of 149-144 that included Southwest Conference runner-up finishes in 1967, ’68, ’69 and ’71. He earned SWC Coach of the Year honors three times and was 108-65 (.624 winning percentage) over his last seven seasons before retiring in ’73.

Menefee’s 1968-69 team finished 18-6 overall, 10-4 in the SWC and earned a No. 19 national ranking by the Associated Press – the Bears’ last national ranking until Scott Drew’s squad entered the poll at No. 24 in 2008. 

To learn more about Bill Menefee, click here for an article by Jerry Hill of the Bear Foundation.