Clarion Athletics

2005, 1997 PSAC West Men's Basketball Coach of the Year

Long-time men's basketball coach Ron Righter announced his retirement from coaching in July 2014 and transitioned into the role of Coordinator for Athletic Department Relocation Logistics and for Summer Camps.

As Clarion's men's basketball coach for 26 years (1989-2014) and as a head coach for 28 years overall Righter recorded the most all-time head coaching victories in Clarion history with 402 while recording 426 career wins. He coached over 700 games for the Golden Eagles (701).  

Tippin Gym roared with excitement during Righter’s reign with Clarion winning nearly 60 percent of its games (402-299) during his tenure as head coach with 17 seasons of at least 15 wins including three 20-win campaigns, three PSAC West titles (1997, 2000, 2005), one PSAC Title (2001) and a trip to the NCAA Division II playoffs. Righter's Eagles averaged 20 wins a season from 1997-2001. 

Under Righter, Clarion went to the PSAC postseason 11 times including an 18-11 overall mark (9-5 PSAC West) record in 2010 when the Golden Eagles finished second in the division and advanced to the PSAC Semifinals. 

The 2005 team won the PSAC Western Division with an 8-4 record and finished 19-9. The 2001 team qualified for the NCAA Playoffs, along with winning Clarion’s first PSAC title and went 19-10 that year overall and 7-5 in the PSAC West. The Golden Eagles also won PSAC West titles in 2000 (20-7 overall, 8-4 PSAC West) and 1997 (22-7 overall, 9-3 PSAC West). Righter was named PSAC-West Coach of the Year in 2005 and 1997.

Additional top seasons include 19-10 in 2003, 19-8 in 1999, 20-7 in 1998, 17-9 in 1993, 19-8 in 1992 and 16-10 in 1991. 

Great players during Righter’s tenure included Kwame Morton (1992-95), the NCAA’s leading scorer in 1995 at 32.5 ppg and the PSAC’s career leading scorer (2,543 points). Oronn Brown (1993-97) held the D-II record for career steals with 361, and the list goes on. Righter coached nearly half (14 of 29) of Clarion's all-time 1,000-poinit scorers.

Also the head coach at Wilkes for two seasons (1980 & 1981) where he was 24-24, Righter has a 26-year collegiate record of 426-323.

Prior to coming to Clarion, Righter, 61, was the first assistant under George Raveling for seven years at Washington State (1981-83), Iowa (1983-86) and Southern Cal (USC) 1986-88. Ron came to Clarion from USC, where he was the Associate Head Coach for two seasons.

A native of Doylestown, Pa., and Central Bucks West High, Righter graduated from Central Bucks West High School in 1970 and accepted a basketball scholarship to Duke. After two years at Duke, he transferred to St. Joseph's in Philadelphia and played his final two seasons (1973-75) averaging 13 ppg as a junior and 17.8 ppg as a senior as the team's captain and MVP. A 1975 St. Joe's grad in Humanities and Theology, he received his Master's from Lehigh in Counseling Education in 1979.

Righter started his coaching experience at Lafayette (1977-78) under Tom Davis (former Iowa coach), was an assistant at Lehigh (1978-79) and the head coach at Wilkes College. He left Wilkes to join Raveling at Washington State. Raveling's first assistant, Righter helped get the Cougars to the NCAA Division I Playoffs in 1983. Righter then went with Raveling to Iowa as first assistant and recruiting coordinator and saw the Hawkeyes post a 54-38 record in three seasons, plus make two NCAA D-1 playoff appearances. As Recruiting Coordinator, Righter posted three straight top 20 recruiting classes. He helped Raveling rebuild at USC for two years before coming to Clarion.

Righter's basketball philosophy? 

"We're a smart, scrappy, hustling type of team that never quits no matter what the score. That's what people can expect when they come to see us play."

Righter has Olympic and international experience. In the Summer of 1988, Righter was one of eight assistants helping U.S. Olympic Coach John Thompson and Raveling narrow the 1988 U.S. Olympic team at Colorado Springs, Colorado. Then he coached in Yugoslavia for two and one-half weeks, running the I.B.A. clinic series that included players throughout Europe. In the summer of 1994 he was selected by USA Basketball as an assistant coach at the U.S. Olympic Sports Festival. He also played and coached in Luxembourg in 1976 and has authored three basketball videos marketed internationally.

Inducted into the St. Joseph's basketball Hall of Fame in the summer of 199, Ron and wife Juliet reside in Shippenville. They have a son Matthew and daughter Emily and a daughter-in-law Allison.