Terry Holland, Legendary Virginia Coach, Passes Away

Terry Holland, beloved gentleman, coach, and administrator at the University of Virginia, died Sunday.

Holland, 80, had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease in 2019 and recently entered the memory care center of the seniors community in Charlottesville where he lived with his wife of 56 years Ann. He is survived by Ann, daughters Ann-Michael Holland and Kate Baynard, and three grandchildren.

Holland led UVA to 9 NCAA Tournament bids with 2 Final Four and 2 Elite Eight appearances during his 16 seasons as coach. The Hoos also won the 1976 ACC Tournament, the program’s only title in that event until 2014, and the 1980 NIT Championship. He was named ACC Coach of the Year twice. After his retirement just shy of 48 years old in 1990, he remained the program’s all-time winningest coach with 326 wins at Virginia until this past December.

“First, Coach Holland is the best – his family, Ann, his daughters – just the way he has represented basketball and this program and what he’s built, it’s just tremendous to be able to talk about him,” current UVA coach Tony Bennett said when asked about approaching Holland’s record at the time before adding: “Part of me almost wishes they didn’t keep track of that and that way Coach Holland could just keep it.”

Holland compiled those many victories with some of the most recognizable players in school history such as Ralph Sampson, Jeff Lamp, Wally Walker, Bryant Stith, and many more. His basketball connections expanded well beyond that, though. He played for and coached with Lefty Driesell at Davidson. As a player, he led the nation in field goal percentage in 1963-64. As a coach, he won 92 games over 5 seasons there and was named the Southern Conference Coach of the Year 3 times. He produced a coaching tree from former assistants and players that included Jim Larranaga, Dave Odom, Jeff Jones, Rick Carlisle, Marc Iavaroni, Mike Schuler, and more. He served on the Senior National Team Committee of USA Basketball from 1992 through 1996.

After stepping away from coaching, Holland became an effective administrator at three different institutions. At Davidson from 1990-1994, he oversaw the school’s return to the Southern Conference and increased fundraising for athletics.

At Virginia from 1994-2001, he helped generate the Scott Stadium expansion project that also opened the Carl Smith Center and also supervised facilities upgrades for swimming and diving, tennis, and more. He left his post as AD to become a special assistant to University of Virginia President John Casteen III where he was a key figure in the creation of the John Paul Jones Arena. He worked on fundraising and planning for the building, which was under construction when he left UVA in 2004.

At that time, Casteen said that “His reputation for integrity in sports programs speaks for itself. Our former athletes, our coaches, and many thousands of UVA fans know the value of his professional competence, his personal warmth, and his lifelong quest for excellence.”

At East Carolina from 2004-2013, Holland returned to the athletics director chair. He helped raise money for and build a new football practice complex and operations building. ECU expanded Dowdy Ficklen Stadium as well and began plans for a basketball practice facility. Women’s sports teams became fully funded during his tenure meaning the 10 teams were able to offer the maximum number of scholarships allowed by the NCAA. The Terry Holland Olympic Sports Complex at East Carolina is home to the 1,000-seat ECU Softball Stadium, the 1,000-seat Johnson Soccer Stadium, the eight-lane Bate Track Facility, and a 20,000-square-foot administrative building.

Robert Lucas, former chair of the ECU board of trustees, said when that complex was named in 2014: “Terry Holland is an ECU icon. He brought instant credibility to ECU. He rescued ECU athletics.”

In 1999, the Charlotte Observer named Holland one of the 50 most influential figures in ACC basketball history. The Virginia Sports Hall of Fame inducted Holland in 2003 as “a name synonymous with excellence” while noting it as “a fitting tribute for a talented athlete who became a successful coach and a dedicated, visionary leader.” The Greater Wilmington Sports Hall of Fame inducted Holland in 2010 to honor the Clinton, North Carolina, native. Fans continue to share memories and condolences on TheSabre.com message board as well.