Fred Snowden
| Sport(s) | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Current position | |
| Title | Head coach |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | c. 1936 Brewton, Alabama |
| Died | January 17, 1994 Washington, D.C. |
| Playing career | |
| 1954-1958 | Wayne State |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1967–1972 | Michigan (asst.) |
| 1972–1982 | Arizona |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 167-108 (.607) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| WAC champion (1976) | |
| Awards | |
| WAC Coach of the Year (1973) | |
Frederick Snowden (c. 1936 – January 17, 1994) was an American businessman and men's basketball coach at the University of Arizona. Nicknamed "The Fox" for his cool demeanor, he was the first African-American head coach at a major university. Following his coaching career Snowden became an executive with Baskin-Robbins and the Food 4 Less foundation.
Snowden was born in Brewton, Alabama, the son of a sharecropper. At age 6 he moved to Detroit, Michigan with his mother and two brothers while his father remained in Alabama. He graduated from Detroit's Northwestern High School. Snowden met his wife, Maya, at Wayne State University and was married in 1962. The couple had two children: a son, Charles Anthony, and a daughter, Stacey Shannon.
Following college, Snowden worked as a basketball coach at his old high school. During his five-year tenure, the school's junior varsity team compiled a record of 90 wins to no losses while the varsity squad had a record of 87 wins and 7 losses. Snowden then worked as a sportscaster on local radio and television before becoming an assistant coach at the University of Michigan under Dave Strack and Johnny Orr.
In 1972, Snowden became the first African-American head coach at a major university and the second black head coach at a Division I school, following Illinois State's Will Robinson, when he accepted a position at the University of Arizona. The year before Snowden's arrival, the school had a 6-20 record and drew about 1,000 fans to each game. In his first year as coach, he achieved a 16-12 records and increased attendance to 5,000 and following the opening of McKale Center attracted crowds of 14,000 to the Wildcat's home games. Following his first season he was also named Western Athletic Conference Coach of the Year, Tucson's Man of the Year and hosted two television shows. Under Snowden's tutelage the Arizona program continued to succeed for several years, making the NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament twice and reaching the Elite Eight in 1976.
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