Roger Kaiser, founding coach of the Life University men’s basketball program, was one of 12 people recently elected to the Small College Basketball National Hall of Fame.
Kaiser joined Bethel (Ind.) College coach Mike Lightfoot as one of two coaches elected in the class of 2020, along with players Eric Brand (Bethel) Corey Crowder (Kentucky Wesleyan), Kenny Davis (Georgetown College), Andre Foreman (Salisbury), Stan Gouard (Southern Indiana), Andy Panko (Lebanon Valley), Archie Talley, (Salem College, West Virginia), Dallas Thornton (Kentucky Wesleyan) and Larry Wilson (Nicholls State). Honored as a contributor was A.O. Duer from Emporia State University, who was considered one of the founders of the NAIA.
In 1990, Kaiser launched the Life basketball program and built it into a powerhouse, with NAIA national championships in 1997, 1999, and 2000. He also led the Running Eagles to a runner-up finish in 1994.
Kaiser was the NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1997 and 2000, and was selected to the NAIA’s 75th anniversary team as one of only 15 coaches. Prior to Kaiser coming to Life, he coached at West Georgia for 20 years, winning the NAIA championship in 1974.
Kaiser is a member of the West Georgia, Georgia Sports, Indiana Basketball and Georgia Tech halls of fame.
As a player, Kaiser led Georgia Tech’s first NCAA tournament squad in 1960, earning first-team All-America honors. The Yellow Jackets went 22-6 and reached the Sweet 16 before falling to eventual champion Ohio State.
The next season, Kaiser became Georgia Tech’s first consensus All-American, earning Southeastern Conference Player of the Year honors. He led the SEC in scoring as a junior (22.8 ppg) and senior (23.4 ppg), and he graduated with Georgia Tech’s career records for points and scoring average.
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd,
racist or sexually-oriented language. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK. Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another
person will not be tolerated. Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone
or anything. Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism
that is degrading to another person. Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on
each comment to let us know of abusive posts. Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness
accounts, the history behind an article.
Please purchase a subscription to read our premium content. If you have a subscription, please log in or sign up for an account on our website to continue.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In
Keep it Clean. Please avoid obscene, vulgar, lewd, racist or sexually-oriented language.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Don't Threaten. Threats of harming another person will not be tolerated.
Be Truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be Nice. No racism, sexism or any sort of -ism that is degrading to another person.
Be Proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
Share with Us. We'd love to hear eyewitness accounts, the history behind an article.