Legendary Coach Murray Arnold to Speak at Basketball Tip-Off

MELBOURNE, Fla. (Men’s Basketball) – To get the 2007-08 basketball season off and running, the Florida Tech men’s and women’s basketball
teams will hold their annual Tip-Off Luncheon Wednesday, November 14, at noon in the Hartley Room of the Student Union Building. Headlining the event is
long-time basketball coach Murray Arnold.   Arnold has more than 40 years of coaching experience, beginning at the high school level from 1957-68. He
then served as an assistant at Florida State University for two seasons, helping guide the Seminoles to a combined 41-12 record and a Top 10 final ranking
in 1970. Arnold landed his first head coaching job at Birmingham-Southern the following season where he turned a struggling program into an NAIA
powerhouse. In eight seasons, his teams won 159 games and made three national tournament appearances.   After his successful stint as a head coach,
Arnold made the jump back to Division I serving as an assistant at Mississippi State for a year before earning the head coaching job at
Tennessee-Chattanooga in 1979. The Maryland native won 21 or more games in five out of his six seasons with the Mocs, won four Southern Conference
championships, played in three NCAA Tournaments and two NITs. He was twice named SoCon Coach of the Year. It was then that the pros took notice and
recruited him to assist Stan Albeck of the Chicago Bulls.   After helping the Bulls to the NBA Playoffs in 1986, Arnold was the head coach at Western
Kentucky for four years, then coached professionally in Australia for four seasons before returning to the states to head the Okaloosa-Walton Community
College men’s basketball team. Earning Coach of the Year honors once again, Arnold led the Raiders to the 1995 NJCAA National Championship.   Finally,
in 1997, Arnold took the head coaching job at Stetson University where he finished out his career in three seasons with the Hatters. Although retired, he
still calls DeLand, Fla., home.   Sponsoring the luncheon is Melbourne Podiatry Associates and the cost to attend is $15. To reserve your seat at the
Tip-off Luncheon, call Florida Tech Athletics at (321) 674-8032, or visit www.merchantamerica.com/fit/echopay.