With a 74-69 win over the University of Central Oklahoma Broncos on January 14, Men’s Basketball head coach Bob Chipman set his place in history as the 17th coach in NCAA history to have 800 career wins. A passion for basketball filled the years leading up to Chipman’s monumental feat.

His career in the world of collegiate basketball started just shy of 50 years ago when Chipman began playing basketball at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan. He spent two years playing guard for Mott, and then in ‘71, he moved to Kansas State University to play guard under legendary coach, Jack Hartman, as well.

In ‘76, Chipman was brought on as an assistant coach at Washburn University under head coach Glenn Cafer. He served this position for three seasons, while also instructing physical education as associate professor, and serving as the softball and men’s tennis coach. After his time as assistant coach, Chipman became head coach in ‘79. It did not take long for the Ichabods to achieve great success under their new coaching staff. Only eight years after Chipman became head coach, the Ichabods fought their way to a MIAA National Championship title in the 1986-87 season.

During the same season as the national championship, Chipman set a record as the winningest coach in Washburn history with a 90-59 win over Marymount College that gave him 173 career victories. To date, Coach Chipman is the winningest coach in MIAA history. Chipman received MIAA Coach of the Year in ‘92, ‘93, and ‘04, along with Kodak district coach of the year in ‘93 from the National Association of Basketball Coaches. He also received the men’s four-year coach of the year award in ‘94 and ‘01 by the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association.

Coach Chipman had also served as an international coach in the Pan American Games in the summers of ‘83 and ‘91. In the summer of ‘83, he was an assistant coach on the team that received a gold medal, and an assistant coach on the bronze-winning team of ‘91. He also assisted in coaching the ‘89 U.S. team in the World University Games that received a gold medal. Chipman was able to take the Ichabods abroad to compete in former Yugoslavia, China, and France, along with a recentvisit to the Baltic Sea in 2012.

Coach Chipman announced his retirement earlier this summer, after a 38-year career that can only be described as legendary. As time goes on, the incredible career of Coach Bob Chipman will always be alive at Washburn.