Tony Yates (September 15, 1937[1] – May 16, 2020) was an American college basketball player and head coach for the Cincinnati Bearcats.
Yates was named a third-team All-American in 1963, when the Bearcats advanced to the national championship game for the third straight season.
He was stationed at Ellsworth Air Force Base, got married in 1958, and also continued to play basketball in the military, in which he served until 1959.
Cincinnati again faced Ohio State, and again the Bearcats bested the Buckeyes, 71–59, to capture their second consecutive national title.
Inheriting a depleted team with few scholarship players, the Bearcats posted a 3–25 record in Yates' first season of 1983–84.
[11] However, in 1984–85, with an infusion of talent including guard Roger McClendon and forward Myron Hughes, Yates' team rapidly turned around their fortunes and posted a 17–14 record, earning an NIT berth.
In 1988–89, Yates' sixth as head coach, the team returned to its winning ways, posting a 15–12 record.
[12] Yates and golf pro Zachary Fink founded the Caring for Kids Foundation, a Cincinnati non-profit to "uplift, assist, and train youth and their families.