MADISON, Wis. — One of the world's top senior tennis players and a head coach at Wisconsin in both men's tennis (1964-68) and men's basketball (1969-76), John Powless was a Badger through and through.
The notable local athlete and leader died on Thursday after a long illness. He was 88.
"John Powless lived a long and fascinating life and UW Athletics was fortunate to have been a part of his journey," said Justin Doherty, Wisconsin Senior Associate Athletic Director. "He will be remembered for his friendly nature and his presence in our community. Our thoughts are with John's family and friends. He will be missed."
Powless is a member of numerous halls of fame and professional sports organizations, including the UW Athletic Hall of Fame (2002), Murray State Hall of Fame (Charter member, 1965) and United States Tennis Hall of Fame (2000), along with 22 honorary memberships in tennis associations across the country.
A standout athlete in high school, Powless was undefeated in three varsity seasons of tennis at Murray State (1953-57) in both singles and doubles play. He won three Ohio Valley Conference singles championships and shared the league's doubles championship three consecutive seasons. He was also an accomplished basketball student-athlete for the Racers.
Powless began his coaching career as a basketball assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati and helped coach teams that won back-to-back NCAA titles in 1961 and 1962.
He began his coaching career at Wisconsin by leading the tennis program in 1964 and compiled a five-year record of 52-39 with three first-division Big Ten finishes. He took the reins as head coach of the Badgers basketball program in 1969. During his tenure, he coached nine NBA draft choices and notably led the Badgers to a 16-8 overall mark (8-6 in the Big Ten) in 1974. He would later serve as a color commentator for Wisconsin basketball television broadcasts.
Powless owned the John Powless Tennis Center in Madison for more than 40 years. He continued to actively compete and coach tennis throughout his life, including winning the 1999 U.S. Senior Open singles title and coaching the Junior Davis Cup team that included renowned athletes Arthur Ashe and Stan Smith. He was the first U.S. senior play to win five consecutive national clay court doubles titles.
Competitively, he was ranked No. 1 by the International Tennis Federation in several age categories (55 and older, 75 and older, 80 and older and 85 and older) and was most recently ranked No. 1 among 85 and older athletes in 2018.
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