Dave Odom to Work with Guilford College Alumni, Athletics as Assistant to the President

GREENSBORO— Dave Odom, who began his storied athletic career as a student-athlete at Guilford College in the 1960s, will work with the college as a part-time assistant to President Kent Chabotar, effective in November. In this part-time consulting role, he will have a variety of responsibilities in fundraising and alumni and student engagement.

Dave Odom

As the college seeks support for major capital projects, including a wellness-fitness center, Odom will assist with targeted alumni and donor discovery and cultivation, including occasional public speaking engagements. Enrollment is also key to the college’s financial equilibrium and campus life. Odom will assist in student recruitment, advise student-athletes, create internship opportunities for sport management majors and serve as a guest lecturer.

“Having Dave Odom, one of our most successful and visible alumni, working to build support for Guilford among alumni and current students will be of great value to the college,” President Chabotar said. “Dave has a lifetime of experience to share, and he loves and believes in this college’s mission and tradition. He is excited, as are we, for this opportunity as he starts a new phase in his career.”

“Dave is well-known and beloved by our alumni,” said Mike Poston, vice president for advancement and executive director of development. “As the college continues to build support for its academic and athletic programs, Dave will help connect or reconnect the time, energies and resources of alumni and other friends with the college. He will be a great ambassador.”

“I am both honored and excited by the opportunity to return to Guilford as a consultant and assistant to President Chabotar,” Odom said. “Guilford continues to serve its students and alumni well, and I am proud to be called a Guilfordian. I am anxious to get to know our students and to visit our many fine alumni.”

Odom retired as a college basketball coach earlier this year with more than 400 head coaching wins, three NIT titles and 15 NCAA Tournament appearances in 22 seasons with East Carolina, Wake Forest and South Carolina. He was National Coach of the Year in 1995 and a Coach of the Year in the Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conferences.

Odom compiled a career head coaching record of 406-278 record including a 240-132 mark at Wake Forest from 1989-2001. He won two ACC titles and eight NCAA Tournament appearances with the Demon Deacons. His last seven years were at South Carolina, where he led the Gamecocks to four 20-win seasons and two NIT titles. His teams appeared in the NCAAs once and were NIT finalists in his first season.

A Goldsboro, N.C., native, Odom earned a bachelor’s degree from Guilford in 1965. He played basketball four years for coach Jerry Steele and football three years. In his junior and senior years, he was basketball team captain and as a senior he was named the college’s Most Outstanding Athlete.

Odom was named to the Guilford Athletic Hall of Fame in 1983, the Goldsboro High School Hall of Fame in 1991 and the Wake Forest University Sports Hall of Fame in 2008.

Odom and his wife, Lynn, who also graduated from Guilford, live in Emerald Isle, N.C. They have two sons—Lane, who is boys’ basketball coach at Charlotte Latin School, and Ryan, an assistant men’s basketball coach at Virginia Tech.