Scholarship fund honors former North Georgia Coach Bill Ensley
Contact: Kate Maine, University Relations
706-864-1950, kmaine@ngcsu.edu
Dahlonega, Ga. (Jan. 7, 2009) - In his 18 years of coaching men's basketball at North Georgia College & State University, Bill Ensley influenced the lives of numerous athletes. Now, athletes are honoring his work by giving back to the university with the creation of a scholarship in his name that will benefit men's basketball players at North Georgia.
The Bill Ensley Scholarship Fund was established by an anonymous donor who will contribute $100,000 over a five-year period to provide scholarships for students in the men's basketball program at North Georgia.
"I am so honored to have a scholarship created in my name," Ensley said. "I think it's one of the best things to happen to me in my career."
A native of Chatsworth, Ga., Ensley came to North Georgia in 1971 as men's basketball coach and athletic director. Ensley's love for the game shaped a lifelong career that garnered him numerous accolades.
"All I've ever done is play basketball," he said. "I had a good high school coach who took me under his wing and helped me eventually play at the University of Georgia ."
Prior to coming to North Georgia, Ensley coached high school basketball, including a 12-year stint at Hart County High School, where he coached both men's and women's basketball. In 1963, Ensley experienced one of the highlights of his career as both of those teams won the state basketball championship in the same day.
"We had a fine group of youngsters there, and that was an amazing event," Ensley said of the achievement.
Success followed Ensley at North Georgia, where he compiled a 327-206 record, went to the district playoffs 11 times, won the district championships in 1983 and 1984 to go on to the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics tournaments, and earned coach of the year honors several times.
In 1988, Ensley retired as men's basketball coach, but stayed on as the university's athletic director. Ensley was named NAIA Athletics Administrator of the Year in 1991 and to the NAIA Men's Basketball Hall of Fame for coaching in 1999.
"We had a lot of good wins and many great players," said Ensley, in recalling the legacy he created at North Georgia. "A lot of my former players went into coaching - at one time five coaches in the Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference had played at North Georgia and a dozen or more went into high school coaching - carrying the North Georgia tradition into schools around the South."
Ensley retired from North Georgia in 1996 and continued his athletic leadership by serving as commissioner of the Southern States Athletic Conference, part of the NAIA. Ensley still lives in Dahlonega and attends every game he can.
Contributions to the Bill Ensley Scholarship Fund may be directed to the North Georgia College & State University Foundation at 70 Alumni Drive, Dahlonega, GA 30533 or online at apache.northgeorgia.edu.
