2023 HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE | RICH AUBREY
Rich Aubrey is Milligan’s all-time winningest basketball coach, men or women.
Specifically, Coach Aubrey coached women’s basketball for 27 seasons. He finished with a record of 522-351. His teams won 9 regular season conference championships and 3 conference tournament titles. He led 8 teams to the National Tournament. He had two teams win over 30 games and produced 6 All-American athletes. Coach Aubrey was named conference Coach of the Year 10 times in basketball. In 2017, Coach Aubrey was honored as the US Marine Corps/ Women’s Basketball Coaches Association- Regional Coach of the Year.
Coach Aubrey also coached men’s and women’s tennis at Milligan. He was named Conference Coach of the Year in each of those sports.
These statistics and achievements are clearly worthy of Hall of Fame recognition in and of themselves. However, to Coach Aubrey, coaching was much more than on the court success.
Coach Aubrey understood that real leadership is servant leadership. And he taught his players this truth. His teams served as buddies in the Challenger Baseball League, visited patients at Niswonger Children’s Hospital, held clinics for developing young players, volunteered at the Ronald McDonald House, joined in reading nights in local elementary schools, participated in Special Olympics clinics, and made school visits locally and at the National Tournament in Iowa.
Coach Aubrey also modeled this servant leadership. It was common to see him move his car to the “canyon” so fans would have a chance at a better parking place. He was known to sweep the gym floor and clean up after players on the bus. Coach Aubrey organized a benefit concert for a couple of his players who had major health crises. He attended weddings of players and funerals of players’ families. Another example in Coach’s desire to serve was seen in where he and his wife, Sheri, chose to live. They lived on campus for almost ten years to make it easier to serve the players and the Milligan community.
This servant leadership was easy to see and recognized by the outside world. Six of Coach Aubrey’s teams won Champions of Character awards. Coach Aubrey himself was honored as the Conference and District Coach of Character three times. And in 2013, Coach won the National Coach of Character award.
Coach Aubrey’s players understood and recognized that Coach was investing in them. Former player Anne Marie Gardner Hammond explained, “Most people invest in ‘things,’ whether it be work, art, or any other tangible item. Coach Aubrey invests in people. Through teaching and coaching he created an atmosphere in which he refined students and athletes by teaching true character. Coach Aubrey always focused on the big picture…you were not there just to play basketball. Coach Aubrey was invested in you, in your future, and the future of society; producing creative teachers, hard-working nurses, loving mothers and wives, and Godly people.”
Before coaching at Milligan, Coach Aubrey earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1985 from Milligan. He obtained a Masters of Education from Milligan in 1993 and completed his doctorate in educational leadership in 1998 from ETSU. Rich currently serves at Milligan as Interim Vice President for Academic Affairs and Dean.
Rich is married to his Milligan sweetheart, Sheri. Sheri is also a Milligan graduate from 1985. The Aubrey’s have two daughters, Erin and Amy, who are both Milligan graduates as well. Rich and Sheri attend Crossroads Christian Church.