# Mel Hankinson

Mel Hankinson (born January 10, 1943) is an American former basketball coach and author. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania (1970–1973), Roanoke College (1973–1977), Delta State University (1977–1983), Samford University (1985–1987), The Master's College—now known as The Master's University (1988–1993), and Liberty University (1998–2002). Hankinson has written a number of books and starred in videos on techniques for coaching basketball.
Hankinson spent over three decades coaching at the collegiate level. He came to his highest profile position as head coach on April 8, 1998 at Liberty University after three years as the top assistant at West Virginia University.
Hankinson began his collegiate career as a head coach at Slippery Rock University, where he spent three seasons highlighted by capturing the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Western Division title in 1972. For that season he was named NAIA District 18 Coach of the Year. Then the following year, Hankinson led the Rockets to the NAIA National Semifinals where the school recorded a fourth-place finish. He holds a master's degree from Indiana State University

## Playing career

Hankinson was a star player at Indiana State College—now known as Indiana University of Pennsylvania. The 59 points he scored on February 26, 1965 against Parsons still stands as a school and Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference record today.

## Books by Hankinson

* Progressions for Teaching Basketball—Mel Hankinson, Cleveland, MS (1979) ISBN 978-0-9606492-0-4
* Basketball Basketball Basketball Co-Authored by Margaret Wade—Delta State University, Cleveland, MS (1980) ISBN 978-9-99705-405-0
* Bench Coaching - Offensive Strategy—Championship Books, Ames, IA (1983) 60 pgs. ISBN 978-0-89279-062-3
* How to Teach Match-Up Zone—Educational Products Publishing Co. (1986) 68 pgs.
* Motivation—S.N. (1987) 24 pgs.
* Bench Coaching - Defensive Strategy—Championship Books, Ames, IA (1993) 131 pgs. ISBN 1-56404-053-4
* The Numbered Motion Offense—Championship Books, Ames, IA (1993) 110 pgs. ISBN 978-1-56404-052-7

## Head coaching record

Statistics overview :
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason |
| Slippery Rock (Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference) (1970–1973) ||||||
| 1970–71 | Slippery Rock | 10–15 | 2–6 | 5th (Western) | |
| 1971–72 | Slippery Rock | 17–7 | 6–2 | T–1st (Western) | |
| 1972–73 | Slippery Rock | 23–7 | 6–4 | T–2nd (Western) | NAIA Division Fourth Place |
| Slippery Rock: | Slippery Rock: | 50–29 | 14–12 | | |
| Roanoke Maroons (Mason–Dixon Conference) (1973–1977) ||||||
| 1973–74 | Roanoke | 24–6 | 10–0 | 1st | NCAA Division II Regional Third Place |
| 1974–75 | Roanoke | 14–13 | | | |
| 1975–76 | Roanoke | 6–20 | | | |
| 1976–77 | Roanoke | 4–23 | | | |
| Roanoke: | Roanoke: | 48–62 | | | |
| Delta State Statesmen (Gulf South Conference) (1977–1983) ||||||
| 1977–78 | Delta State | 12–13 | 7–8 | 5th | |
| 1978–79 | Delta State | 13–13 | 7–8 | T–5th | |
| 1979–80 | Delta State | 19–7 | 7–5 | T–3rd | |
| 1980–81 | Delta State | 15–13 | 4–8 | T–5th | |
| 1981–82 | Delta State | 18–9 | 8–4 | 3rd | |
| 1982–83 | Delta State | 13–15 | 3–11 | 8th | |
| Delta State: | Delta State: | 90–70 | 36–44 | | |
| Samford Bulldogs (Trans America Athletic Conference) (1984–1987) ||||||
| 1984–85 | Samford | 18–12 | 7–7 | T–5th | |
| 1985–86 | Samford | 16–13 | 8–6 | 2nd | |
| 1986–87 | Samford | 4–22 | 1–17 | 10th | |
| Samford: | Samford: | 38–47 | 16–30 | | |
| The Master's Mustangs (1988–1993) ||||||
| 1988–89 | The Master's | 20–13 | | | |
| 1989–90 | The Master's | 20–13 | | | |
| 1990–91 | The Master's | 20–14 | | | |
| 1991–92 | The Master's | 20–14 | | | |
| 1992–93 | The Master's | 19–14 | | | |
| Masters: | Masters: | 99–68 | | | |
| Liberty Flames (Big South Conference) (1998–2002) ||||||
| 1998–99 | Liberty | 4–23 | 0–10 | 6th | |
| 1999–00 | Liberty | 14–14 | 4–10 | 7th | |
| 2000–01 | Liberty | 13–15 | 5–9 | 6th | |
| 2001–02 | Liberty | 5–25 | 2–12 | 8th | |
| Liberty: | Liberty: | 36–77 | 11–41 | | |
| Total: | Total: | 361–353 | | | |
| National champion   Postseason invitational champion   Conference regular season champion   Conference regular season and conference tournament champion  Division regular season champion  Division regular season and conference tournament champion  Conference tournament champion ||||||