Chris Beard sends condolences after death of Coolidge Ball

Ole Miss head coach Chris Beard remembered the life of Coolidge Ball, the first Black student-athlete at the school, during his press conference Tuesday.

Ball died Tuesday at the age of 71.

“Obviously, the biggest news and most important thing today is the passing of somebody dear to all of us, just a legend. Coolidge Ball was not only one of the best players to play at this school, one of the best people to go this university. He was really a trailblazer, pioneer. Had the pleasure of meeting briefly around the time that we accepted the job, was really looking forward to developing a friendship,” Beard said.

“But simply stated, he’s done so much for not only Ole Miss basketball but the athletic department, the University, the town, this part of the state, the state. He’s just a legend. So on behalf of everybody in our basketball program, we just want to extend our sympathies to his wife, his children, his grandchildren. Obviously, we look forward to celebrating his life. That’s the most important thing today.”

Ball enrolled at Ole Miss in 1970. Freshmen couldn’t play varsity so Ball only played three varsity seasons with the program. But he made the most of those three seasons.

He twice earned All-SEC second team status and averaged 14.1 points and 9.9 rebounds in his career. His career high was 16.8 points and 10.3 rebounds, both accomplished during his sophomore season.

The Rebels had a winning season each of the years Ball played with the program.

“I kind of educated myself on today and I knew this but now I know even more is, when you’re a hero and a legend like that, your identity is always going to be the story of what he did to pave the way at this university, this state,” Beard said. “But also, I don’t want this to get left behind, he’s a really good basketball player too. You’re talking about an all-SEC guy, 1000-point scorer, impacted winning. He’s definitely a guy where you can have a movie about his life but you could also have a movie about his specific basketball career. He’s one of the all time greats.”

After his career wrapped up, Ball was an assistant coach at Northwest Mississippi Community College before starting his own business in Oxford.

His trophy case continued to grow even after he hung up his uniform. He is a member of the Ole Miss Athletics Hall of Fame. He earned a spot on the Ole Miss Men’s Basketball All-Century Team. He even has a statue of himself outside The Sandy and John Black Pavilion.

Beard said he wanted Ball to give a speech to his team, and is sad he and his players won’t get to hear the legend speak to them.

He also recalled their first and only meeting a few weeks prior.

“I just thought it was pretty cool when you get to meet the guy who has the statue out front,” Beard said. “It doesn’t happen a lot in life. But he’s a legend. He’s a pioneer. He’s a hero. He did a lot for a lot of people. His impact is still felt today. That story is well documented. We’ve already started mentioning it our players. We were looking forward to him being one of the guest speakers with the team.

“Because our team kind of arrived late this summer, we didn’t have all the pieces. We had a staff meeting about this. We wanted to show Coolidge the utmost respect. We wanted to extend an invitation for him to speak when the whole team was there. I didn’t want one of our players to miss it. Sad day for so many reasons. But also again our prayers and thoughts are with his wife and family and grandchildren. But like all great people, hopefully the celebration can start soon too.”