Hall of Honor
Bill Harris spent 18 seasons as the head men’s basketball coach at Wheaton, posting a record of 320-148. Harris coached Wheaton from 1991 until his retirement in 2009. During his time with the Wheaton program, Harris owned the highest winning percentage in Wheaton men's basketball history at 68 percent. He had seven seasons with at least 20 wins and coached six different players to 10 All-American honors. He was named National Division III Coach of the Year by Basketball Times in 1995-96 and also won the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association's NCAA Division III "Coach of the Year" award twice in his career.
Harris’ program won three CCIW Championships in his tenure. The Crusaders recorded a 25-2 overall mark in 1995-96. In 2007-08, Wheaton went 22-8 and reached the Elite Eight of the NCAA Division III Tournament. In his final season at Wheaton, Harris’ team posted a 26-4 record and advanced to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Division III Tournament, finishing the year ranked second in the country by D3Hoops.com.
Current Wheaton basketball coach Mike Schauer (’93) played on Harris’ first two Wheaton teams and later served under him as an assistant coach. “It is difficult to articulate the impact Coach Harris has had on my life,” says Schauer. He remarks, “The professional impact of Coach Harris on me is obvious. However, the influence he has had on my walk with Jesus, my marriage, and my parenting is more subtle but exponentially more important to me.”
