Harlan Hodges
# Harlan Hodges

Harlan Crews Hodges (November 11, 1902 – June 6, 1994) was an American college basketball coach and educator. He was the head coach at Murray State (1948–54) and Idaho (1954–59), then became a high school administrator.

## Early career

Hodges' coaching career began at West Frankfort High School in West Frankfort, Illinois. In his 12 seasons at WFHS, Hodges' Redbirds won their regional tournament three times, their sectional tournament twice, and made it to the state championship four times. He spent one season as the head basketball and track coach at the Missouri School of Mines before returning to his alma mater, Southern Illinois as an assistant basketball and football coach.

## Murray State

Hodges was hired at Murray State College in Murray, Kentucky, in the spring of 1948. His 1950–51 and 1951–52 teams finished the year ranked No. 16 in the years' end AP poll. His teams twice made the NAIA Division I men's basketball tournament and was runner up in 1952. Two of Hodges' players at Murray State, Bennie Purcell and Garrett Beshear, received All-American honors. His overall record at Murray State was 109–66 (.623).

## Idaho

In May 1954, Hodges became head coach at the University of Idaho in the Pacific Coast Conference, replacing Chuck Finley, who departed after seven seasons for Mississippi Southern. His starting salary was $7,320, and in his five years in Moscow, Hodges had a 52–77 (.403) record with the Vandals and no tournament appearances. His best season was his fourth in 1957–58, when they were 17–9 (.654) and finished fourth in the PCC at 9–7. He resigned in late April 1959 to become a high school superintendent in Anna, Illinois.

## After coaching

After Idaho, Hodges was superintendent at Anna-Jonesboro Community High School for five years, then returned to Murray State to teach in 1964, and retired in 1973. He died in 1994 at age 91.

## Head coaching record

### College basketball

Statistics overview :

| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Missouri Mines Miners (Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1947–1948) ||||||
| 1947–48 | Missouri Mines | 10–9 | 3–7 | | |
| Missouri Mines: | Missouri Mines: | 10–9 | 3–7 | | |
| Murray State Racers (Ohio Valley Conference) (1948–1954) ||||||
| 1948–49 | Murray State | 13–12 | 4–5 | 6th | |
| 1949–50 | Murray State | 18–13 | 5–7 | 5th | NAIA First Round |
| 1950–51 | Murray State | 21–6 | 9–3 | 1st | |
| 1951–52 | Murray State | 24–10 | 9–3 | 3rd | NAIA Runner-up |
| 1952–53 | Murray State | 18–9 | 7–3 | 3rd | |
| 1953–54 | Murray State | 15–16 | 6–4 | 2nd | |
| Murray State: | Murray State: | 109–66 | 40–25 | | |
| Idaho Vandals (Pacific Coast Conference) (1954–1959) ||||||
| 1954–55 | Idaho | 8–18 | 5–11 | 5th (North) | |
| 1955–56 | Idaho | 6–19 | 4–12 | 8th | |
| 1956–57 | Idaho | 10–16 | 4–12 | 7th | |
| 1957–58 | Idaho | 17–9 | 9–7 | 4th | |
| 1958–59 | Idaho | 11–15 | 6–10 | 7th | |
| Idaho: | Idaho: | 52–77 | 28–52 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 171–152 | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||
