Campbell University

Danny Roberts Photo Gallery

Danny Roberts Obituary

Danny Roberts, a former two-sport standout and the winningest basketball coach in school history, was inducted into the Campbell University Sports Hall of Fame in October 2003.
 
A native of Siler City, Roberts was an all-state performer in both baseball and basketball at Siler City High School.  His long and fruitful association with Campbell began in 1953 when he attended Campbell Junior College and played both basketball and baseball.  After earning his A.A. degree, he went on to Pfeiffer College and graduated with his B.A. degree in Physical Education in 1957.
 
After earning his master’s degree at the University of North Carolina in 1959, Roberts began his coaching career on the junior high and high school levels.  He returned to Campbell in 1963 as head golf coach and assistant to Coach Fred McCall on the basketball team.
 
Coach Roberts’ golf teams were outstanding in the 1960s.  He was three times named NAIA District 29 Coach of the Year.  His teams won 12 tournaments and were ranked among the nation’s top five on three occasions during an eight-year span.
 
However, Roberts’ greatest contribution came in his 15 years as head men’s basketball coach.  After taking over for Coach McCall midway through the 1968-69 season, Roberts guided the Fighting Camels to a school-record 233 victories and served as Director of the Campbell Basketball School, the nation’s oldest and largest summer basketball camp.
 
Three times selected as NAIA District 29 Coach of the Year and Area 5 Coach of the Year in 1970, Roberts guided his teams to a pair of NAIA National Tournament appearances.  His 1970 squad advanced to the NAIA tourney in Kansas City.  The 1977 team made an historic run through the event, becoming the first un-seeded team in NAIA history to reach the finals.
 
One of the most respected basketball coaches in the country, from 1969-77 Coach Roberts served as NAIA District 29 basketball chairman and was Area 5 chairman from 1972-77.  He was a member of the NAIA All-America basketball selection committee from 1975-77.
 
Coach Roberts guided Campbell through its first six years of NCAA Division I basketball competition, before stepping down to serve once again as golf coach and physical education instructor.  After leaving the University in 1987, he returned to his native Randolph County and guided Eastern Randolph High School’s basketball team to 100 victories and two conference titles in five years.
 
Preceded in death by his wife, Barbara, Coach Roberts passed away Feb. 5, 2023 at the age of 88.