George Henry Raveling, former Nike executive and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame member, died at 88 years old on Monday, his family announced Tuesday in a statement on social media. Raveling had fought cancer, according to the statement. Raveling played at Villanova in the late 1950s and served as head coach for Washington State, Iowa and USC before joining Nike as its global sports marketing director. "Born in a segregated hospital and rising to the halls of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, George never lost his love for life, his resilience, his childlike curiosity, nor his unshakable belief in treating every person with dignity and respect," the statement said. "Beyond accolades, he remained a lifelong learner and a kind, beautiful soul — always finding ways to pour into others and inspire the next generation." It is with deep sadness and unimaginable pain that we share the passing of our beloved "Coach," George Henry Raveling.pic.twitter.com/LGWQubvI3V — George Raveling (@GeorgeRaveling)September 2, 2025 Raveling leaves behind anamazing basketball legacyon and off the court. He was on-site for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech, serving as a guard for the event. King gave Raveling the original version of the speech afterward, and Raveling later donated to his alma mater. Raveling also played a major role in Nike signing Michael Jordan in the mid-1980s. "Sonny [Vaccaro] likes to take the credit, but it really wasn't Sonny, it was actually George Raveling. George Raveling was with me on the 1984 Olympics team. He used to always try to talk to me, 'You gotta go Nike, you gotta go Nike. You've got to try,'"Michael Jordan saidof George Raveling influencing his Nike signing. Raveling played college basketball at Villanova from 1957-1960, then moved into an assistant coaching position with the team in 1963. That was the launch of a 31-year coaching career that saw him become thefirst Black head coachin the ACC. He had a 336-292 record in his career. While coaching in the Pac-10 for Washington State and USC, Raveling won conference Coach of the Year honors three times and was also namedNABC Coach of the Yearin 1992. Raveling was also an assistant at the 1984 Olympic Games. He retired from coaching in 1994, was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015. Raveling was also involved in a bad car accident in 1994, but recovered. In addition to his work with Nike, Raveling also wrote a memoir and spent time with CBS Sports and Fox as a color commentator.