Bobcats Coach McDonald Passes Away At Age 90
SAN MARCOS, Texas– Texas State Athletics Department mourns the loss of legendary player and coach Vernon McDonald earlier this week.
“Vernon McDonald was all Bobcat. I am not sure that anyone experienced or knew more about the history of Bobcat Athletics than Coach McDonald,” said Director of Athletics, Dr. Larry Teis. “McDonald was both a great player and an outstanding coach for the university, but he was much more than that. I think his biggest gift was his ability to bring people together. He often drew a crowd and most likely, that crowd was going to hear about the Bobcats. He was a unifier and he had his own way of making everyone feel special. He is going to be greatly missed by anyone who was fortunate enough to interact with him.”
McDonald, a Dale, Texas native, received a scholarship to play at Southwest Texas Teachers College under legendary coach Milton Jowers, who would later become his mentor. McDonald was a three-time all-conference point guard and was a part of the 1951-52 team that finished with a 30-1 overall record and finished third at the NAIA National Tournament.
After his collegiate playing years, McDonald served as a coach and teacher at Eagle Pass High School for one year before his coach Jowers asked him to be an assistant coach for the Bobcats.
Coach Mac joined Jowers and was his assistant when the Bobcats won the NAIA National Championship in 1960. Jowers retired after the next season and Coach Mac took over the program. McDonald is the longest-tenured coach for the Bobcats as he led the program for 16 seasons from 1961-77.
He ranks No. 2 all-time in wins with a 226-192 (.541) overall record behind legendary coach Jowers (287-106, .730). After stepping down as head coach in 1977, Coach Mac served as the assistant athletic director until he retired in 1988.
McDonald was named the Lone Star Conference (LSC) Coach of the Year in 1971 and was honored as one of the top figures in the LSC in 2006. He was the only honoree to make the list as both a player and coach. McDonald’s jersey No. 40 was also the first basketball number to be retired in the program’s history.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in Vernon’s memory to the Vernon McDonald Men’s Basketball Endowment that was established in 1997 to benefit a current men’s basketball student-athlete. Coach Mac was a long-standing member of the T-Association Athletic Alumni Board of Directors.
Arrangements have been made for Coach Mac beginning with the viewing at 5:30 p.m. Friday, Aug. 23 at the Pennington Funeral Home in San Marcos.
The funeral service will be at 10 a.m. the following morning at First Baptist Church in San Marcos, followed by lunch at noon in the Warren Room at Bobcat Stadium.
