OSHKOSH, Wis.- Dale Race, a member of the UW-Oshkosh men's basketball program from 1966 to 1969 and a 1999 inductee to the UW-Oshkosh Athletics Hall of Fame, passed away on Friday (April 25) at the age of 78 after a long battle with prostate cancer.
 
Following an outstanding high school athletic career in Marinette, Race attended UW-Oshkosh to play basketball for the Titans. After averaging 2.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game as a freshman in 1966, Race became the first player off the bench the next two seasons on teams that have been regarded as two of the finest in UW-Oshkosh history.
 
As the tallest guard in the conference, maybe even the country, Race helped the Titans to a 17-6 record and a then-called Wisconsin State University Conference (WSUC) championship in 1967 and another league crown in 1968. Both the 1967 and 1968 teams advanced to the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City, Missouri, with the latter squad finishing third in the country after upsetting top-seeded Guilford College (N.C.) and the NBA Seattle Supersonics' 1968 first-round draft pick Bob Kauffman in the opening round. Race closed his career with the Titans in 1969.
 
After graduating from UW-Oshkosh 1970, Race served as an assistant coach at Milton College from 1971 to 1975 and UW-Eau Claire from 1980 to 1984.
 
After his coaching stints at Milton College and UW-Eau Claire, Race found his home at the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1984. There he guided the Bulldogs to a 293-120 record, including nine 20-plus win seasons.
 
Race, who was an assistant men's basketball coach on gold medal-winning North Team at the 1989 U.S. Olympic Festival, retired from coaching in 1998 after compiling a career 363-177 record and a .672 winning percentage, the 37th-highest mark in the history of NCAA Division II men's basketball. Race remained a resident of Duluth and active with the University of Minnesota Duluth's athletic department.
 
Race is survived by his wife, Margaret, and daughters Jennifer and Kari.