George Raveling, a towering figure in college basketball and a longtime Nike executive who helped seal Michael Jordan’s deal with the brand, has died at age 88 after a courageous battle with cancer. He was surrounded by family at the time of his passing.
The Villanova product, who played for the Wildcats from 1957 to 1960 and later served as an assistant head coach there in 1963, left a lasting imprint as a coach across Maryland, Washington State, Iowa and USC before retiring in 1994. Along the way, he earned Pac-10 Coach of the Year honors three times and was named National Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year.
Raveling also contributed on the international stage as an assistant coach for Team USA during the 1984 Olympics and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2015.
After stepping away from the sidelines, he became Nike’s global basketball marketing director, playing a critical role in recruiting Michael Jordan to the brand. Jordan himself has acknowledged that while others credit Sonny Vaccaro, it was Raveling who pressed Jordan to consider Nike.
Beyond sports, Raveling was active in civil rights history. He participated as a guard at the March on Washington in 1963 and, when he was offered millions for the original typewritten copy of Martin Luther King Jr.’s I Have a Dream speech, he donated it to his alma mater. The speech is now housed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.
In a statement, Raveling’s family expressed how much he meant to those around him: there are no words to fully capture what he meant to his family, friends, colleagues, former players and assistants—and to the world. He will be profoundly missed, yet his aura, energy, divine presence and timeless wisdom live on in all those he touched and transformed.
What this means for his legacy is a unique fusion of athletics, branding and civil rights advocacy. Raveling’s work helped shape modern athlete endorsements and mentorship across generations, while his coaching and community leadership left an enduring impact on players and fans alike.
He will be remembered as a pioneer who used his platforms to empower others, with a lasting legacy that will inspire coaches, players and marketers for years to come. A brief summary of his life: a hall-of-fame coach, a trailblazing marketer for Nike, and a civil rights advocate whose influence extended well beyond the hardwood.