Oglethorpe University

Billy Wilson Carter was a four-year men’s basketball player who returned to his alma mater as a coach years later. He was a member of the famed 1958-59 basketball team that put Oglethorpe basketball on the map by bringing home the Georgia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title and recording the best defensive average in the NAIA.

Carter also played on the baseball team for three years, and was on the tennis team his senior year. He was a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society, president of his junior class, and was president of the student government for the 1958-59 school year. After graduation, Carter earned an M.A. from Vanderbilt University.

Upon the retirement of his coach, the legendary Garland Pinholster, Carter served as head coach of Oglethorpe’s men’s basketball team for three seasons (1966-1969). His 1968-69 team has since been inducted into the school’s hall of fame after competing in that season’s NCAA tournament.  

Later in life, Carter was an accomplished businessman, attorney, and even owned his own real estate company. He and his wife Susan had four children; Kelly, Stacy, Lance and Ashley. They had 8 grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren. Carter battled Myeloma (plasma) cancer for 7 years until passing on his 80th birthday: January 24, 2017.