The second-winningest coach in Towson basketball history, Terry Truax was inducted into the Towson Athletics Hall of Fame in 2004.
He led the Tigers to their most successful seasons as an NCAA Division I basketball program. Named as the Tigers’ head coach in 1983, he guided the program for 14 years. During that time, he led the Tigers to seven winning seasons, two NCAA Tournament appearances, three conference tournament championships and four conference regular season titles.
He was honored as the East Coast Conference (ECC) Coach of the Year twice and the Big South Conference Coach of the Year twice. As the Tigers’ head coach, he compiled a 202-203 record. A native of Hancock, Md., Truax graduated from the University of Maryland in 1968. He spent almost 15 years as an assistant coach at North Carolina, Virginia, Florida, Colorado and Mississippi State before becoming the Tigers’ head coach.
In 1987 and 1988, he led the Tigers to second place finishes in the ECC. In 1988-89, the Tigers enjoyed their best season as a Division I program, compiling a 19-10 record that included a 10-4 ECC mark. Their second-place finish earned him the ECC Coach of the Year award.
In 1989-90, the Tigers won their first ECC championship and made the NCAA Tournament for the first time. Matched up against number one-ranked Oklahoma, the Tigers gave the Sooners all they could handle before dropping a 77-68 verdict. In 1990-91, the Tigers won their second straight ECC championship as he was the ECC Coach of the Year again. Once more, Towson turned in a strong showing at the NCAA Tournament, losing to Ohio State by 97-86.
In 1991-92, the Tigers became the first team in ECC history to win three straight championships as they beat Hofstra for the league title. The Tigers moved to the Big South Conference in 1992-93 and won the regular season title with a 14-2 record. Towson finished the season with an 18-9 overall mark and Terry was named as the Big South Coach of the Year. In their second Big South year, the Tigers opened the season with a stunning 66-65 victory over St. John’s in the Pre-Season NIT. Towson went on to post a 21-9 overall record and win its second straight Big South regular season title, earning another Coach of the Year award for Truax.
The 1993-94 season was Towson’s sixth straight winning season. Although injuries caused the Tigers to finish 12-15 in 1994-95, they pulled off wins over major programs West Virginia and Louisville. In 1995-96, the Tigers went 16-12 in their first America East season, tying for third place and reaching the tournament semifinals.
Since 1997, he has been active as professional basketball coach in Korea and Holland. He also spent two seasons as the head coach of the Baltimore Bayrunners of the United States Basketball League.
