So soon after saying good bye to Jack "Cy" McClairen, Bethune-Cookman University Athletics joins the basketball community in both mourning the loss and celebrating the impactful life and career of alum John Chaney, who passed away Friday, January 29, 2021 at the age of 89.

Before embarking on a Hall of Fame coaching career, Chaney's scoring and flashy guard play paced one of the finest eras of Bethune-Cookman Men's Basketball. He and McClairen led the 1952-53 Wildcats to a Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) championship and a berth in the NAIA national tournament, with one district serving as the de facto Black College national championship. The Wildcats advanced to the title game, falling to Tennessee State.

Two years later, Chaney capped off a career that included a 57-point outburst against Knoxville in 1952, four All SIAC selections and an NAIA All American honor with a second NAIA tournament appearance. He was enshrined in the Bethune-Cookman University Athletic Hall of Fame inaugural class of 2000.

B-CU Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Lynn W. Thompson offered a poignant perspective on Chaney.

 "As a young kid growing up here I heard the legendary stories on John Chaney as a player, then as a young AD in 1993 I had the chance to sit for hours with him and Cy McClairen at the NCAA Final Four in New Orleans as they held court there amongst basketball royalty," Thompson said. "He spoke of his immense love of Bethune-Cookman and the foundation it laid upon his life. Sitting with those two legends was life changing.

"Last week he and I chatted for almost an hour after Coach Cy passed and he was set to participate in an upcoming event to honor Cy's legacy, but I guess God must have needed another Wildcat Hall of Famer to do something special," Thompson added.

Fellow Bethune-Cookman Hall of Famer Harold Lucas joked that Chaney was the reason he left the Wildcat basketball team.

"He was so good I quit just so I could watch him play," said Lucas. "[Coach] Bunky Matthews would laugh about how Chaney could make us all look like fools because he dribbled the ball so well and had a pull away jumper you couldn't block. He was one of the best, if not the best, basketball player Bethune-Cookman has ever had."

Andy Hinson, who was a football player when Chaney played basketball at Bethune-Cookman, recalled the time Matthews, who coached both sports, tried to get Chaney to quarterback the football team.

"John came out there one day," Hinson said. "And after 15 minutes of seeing the hitting, he was out of there. He knew that was not for him."

Hinson smiled when telling the stories of how Chaney would try to sneak out of attending chapel services, even to the point of hiding under beds.

"He was a jovial guy," Hinson said. "Always found something to laugh about."

Matthews envisioned Hinson and Chaney coaching football and basketball at Bethune-Cookman together. They would coach together – at Cheyney University after Hinson enjoyed a three-year run at Bethune-Cookman. That Cheyney coaching staff also included Hall of Famer Vivian Stringer, who led Cheyney to a national championship game appearance and is now the Head Coach at Rutgers University.

After Bethune-Cookman, Chaney rose to national prominence at Temple University, leading the Owl men's program for 24 years. He was twice named the national Division I coach of the year, and his 1987–88 team ended the season ranked No. 1 in the country. All but one of those teams played in postseason tournaments, including 17 NCAA Tournament appearances.

He was elected into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2001 and the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006.

Prior to Temple, Chaney coached for 10 years at Cheyney University, where he turned the program into a national Division II power. His teams compiled a 225-59 record, appeared in eight national championship tournaments and won the NCAA Division II title in 1978.

Chaney began his coaching career at Philadelphia's Sayre Junior High, where his teams won 59 of 68 games. He then moved up to Simon Gratz High and quickly turned a struggling 1-17 club into a perennial winner. 

As a professional player in the Eastern Basketball League, Coach Chaney was named all-pro six times and earned the league's MVP award in 1959 and 1960. He also toured briefly with the Harlem Globetrotters.

In addition to graduating in 1955 from Bethune-Cookman College, Chaney also received a master's degree from Antioch College.