Northeastern State Athletics Hall of Fame
Ken Willis graduated from Northeastern State in 1965. Willis was a standout for the Redmen basketball team for two seasons, 1962-63 and 1963-64, where he earned All-Oklahoma Collegiate Conference honors as a senior. He transferred to Northeastern from Oklahoma Military Academy in Claremore where he was a junior college All-American. Willis was the 6th Region Coach of the Year in the 1970s at Butler High School in Louisville, Kentucky. After his highly-successful stint in the high school ranks, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach and instructor. He was hired as head coach for the NSU women’s basketball program in the mid-1980s where he averaged 16 wins per season and led the Lady Reds to the 1987 District IX playoffs and earned Coach of the Year honors.
