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United States George Raveling's career spanned from collegiate basketball playing and coaching to executive leadership at Nike, leaving a significant impact across all levels of the sport.
George Raveling served as Nike's global basketball sports marketing director from 1994 until his death. He played a pivotal role in convincing Michael Jordan to sign a landmark endorsement deal with Nike in 1984, which directly influenced the creation of the Air Jordan brand. His memoir 'What You're Made For: Powerful Life Lessons from My Career in Sports' is being published by Penguin.
After retiring from coaching in 1994, George Raveling worked as a color commentator for both CBS Sports and FOX Sports, staying connected to the game through broadcasting.
George Henry Raveling was born in Washington, D.C. on June 27, 1937. He was raised in Washington, D.C., and was introduced to basketball in ninth grade. His early life involved attending St. Michael’s, a Catholic boarding school in Hoban Heights, Pennsylvania, where he converted to Catholicism. Raveling attended Villanova University, where he played basketball for the Wildcats. As a player, he was noted for his rebounding skills, setting school records and leading his team to consecutive National Invitation Tournament (NIT) appearances in 1959 and 1960. He was selected by the Philadelphia Warriors in the eighth round of the 1960 NBA draft.
Raveling’s coaching career began as an assistant at Villanova, followed by a move to Maryland in 1969, where he became the first African American coach in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). In 1972, he was hired as the head coach for the Washington State Cougars, becoming the first African-American basketball coach in the Pacific-8 Conference (now Pac-12). During his eleven years at Washington State, he guided the team to two NCAA tournament appearances in 1980 and 1983, marking the first time WSU was included in the NCAA bracket since 1941. He achieved a record of 167–136 with seven winning seasons. He continued his head coaching career at the University of Iowa (1983–1986) and the University of Southern California (1986–1994). He served as an assistant coach for the medal-winning Olympic teams in 1984 and 1988.
After retiring from coaching in 1994 due to injuries from a car accident, Raveling transitioned into broadcasting for Fox Sports and CBS. He then joined Nike as Director of Grassroots Basketball and later Director of International Basketball, a position he held until his death. At Nike, he was instrumental in Michael Jordan’s landmark endorsement deal in 1984, which led to the creation of the Air Jordan brand. Raveling was also a significant figure on the boards of the NABC, the NCAA, and USA Basketball. Notably, in 1963, he obtained the original copy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech, which he later gave to Villanova University. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015 and the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
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