Tippy Dye William Henry Harrison " Tippy " Dye ( April 1 , 1915 – April 11 , 2012 ) was an American college athlete , coach , and athletic director . As a basketball head coach , Dye led the University of Washington to its only NCAA Final Four appearance . As an athletic director , Dye helped build the University of Nebraska football dynasty . Playing career . Dye enrolled at Ohio State University in 1933 and became a star three - sport athlete for the Buckeyes . He earned three varsity letter s as a football quarterback in 1934 , 1935 , and 1936 . His team finished those seasons with records of 7 - 1 , 7 - 1 , and 5 - 3 , respectively , and until 2006 he was the only Buckeye quarterback to win three consecutive games over the University of Michigan . Dye also played guard on the school ' s basketball team , lettering in 1935 , 1936 and 1937 . He was an All - Conference selection in the Big Ten in 1936 and 1937 . In 1937 he was also the team ' s captain . Dye lettered in baseball in 1935 and 1936 . After graduation , Dye played in the 1937 College All - Star Football Game against the Green Bay Packers at Soldier Field ( collegians upset the Packers 6 - 0 ) . In that game , Dye played in a backfield that included future pro legend , Sammy Baugh . Dye then signed to play with the first incarnation of the Cincinnati Bengals , a member of the second American Football League , in 1937 . Coaching career . After his one - year stint with the Bengals , Dye entered the coaching ranks . He coached first at Grandview Heights High School just outside of Columbus from 1939 - 41 . On April 3 , 1941 , Dye was named the coach at Brown where he also was an assistant coach for the football team under Paul Brown . The next year , Dye returned to Ohio State to be an assistant for the football and basketball teams . The Buckeye ' s basketball team was coached by Harold Olsen at the time , one of the men who spearheaded the creation of an NCAA basketball tournament in 1939 . During World War II , Dye served for three years in the U . S . Navy . He then went on to become the basketball coach at his alma mater , Ohio State , from 1947 to 1950 . In 1950 , the Buckeyes won the Big Ten title and finished in the Elite Eight of the NCAA basketball tournament . Dye then moved on to the University of Washington in Seattle , where he was the head coach from 1950 to 1959 . Washington won three consecutive Pacific Coast titles ( 1951 – 53 ) , and advanced to the 1953 NCAA Final Four . Dye ' s 156 - 91 record ( ) with the Huskies ranks him as the fourth winningest coach in UW basketball history , behind Hall of Fame coaches Hec Edmundson ( 488 wins ) and Marv Harshman ( 246 wins ) , as well as current coach Lorenzo Romar ( 219 wins ( April 2012 ) ) . Athletic director . Long desiring an administrative role , Dye left Seattle in 1959 to become the athletic director at Wichita State University , at an annual salary of $ 13 , 000 . After three years , he moved up to the Big Eight Conference at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln in 1962 . Prior to hiring Dye , the Nebraska football program had an all - time winning percentage of less than 62 % , and had a lackluster two decades ; Dye hired Bob Devaney from Wyoming following the 1961 season as head coach and since their arrival in 1962 ( ending 2005 ) , the Husker football winning percentage is just over 81 % , which is by far the highest winning percentage in that period in the nation . Dye also hired head basketball coach Joe Cipriano , the scrappy leader from his Final Four team at Washington . Cipriano coached the Huskers for 17 seasons , until his death from cancer in 1980 . Dye moved on to Northwestern University in 1967 and retired in 1974 at age 59 . Name . Dye was named after William Henry Harrison , the ninth U . S . President . Harrison used the campaign nickname of Tippecanoe in 1840 , which led in turn to Dye ' s nickname of " Tippy . " Death . Dye died on April 11 , 2012 , ten days after his 97th birthday . In recent years , he had lived in California with his daughter and her husband following his wife ' s death , who died in 2001 after 64 years of marriage . He was buried next to her in Pomeroy , Ohio .