Shelby Metcalf, 76; Texas A&M; basketball coach set a record for victories

Shelby Metcalf, 76, who set a record for Southwest Conference victories in his 27 seasons as basketball coach at Texas A&M;, died Thursday at a hospital in College Station, Texas, after a lengthy illness, the university announced.

Metcalf, who became coach in 1963 and left midway through the 1990 season, had an overall record of 438-306 and a 239-158 mark in Southwest Conference play, with six conference titles.

His teams qualified for the NCAA tournament five times, including a trip to the Sweet 16 in 1980.

Metcalf’s homespun humor was as well-known as his competitiveness. When a player showed him a grade report that had four Fs and a D, he reportedly replied: “Son, it looks to me like you’re spending too much time on one subject.” A native of Tulsa, Okla., Metcalf was an All-American guard at East Texas State, now Texas A&M-Commerce;, where he helped lead the team to an NAIA national championship in 1955.

He earned a doctorate in philosophy from Texas A&M; in 1974.