Oglethorpe University

Murphy Roger Couch was a star forward after transferring to Oglethorpe in 1958, awarded best defensive player, best effort, and best free throw shooter during his career. He was a member of the 1958-59 men’s basketball team which has since been inducted into the Oglethorpe Athletics Hall of Fame.

In 1961, Couch and the team lost only two games in the regular season, then won the district NAIA tournament. The Petrels entered the national tournament as the No.4 seed, but ultimately fell in the first round.
Couch also played on the baseball team and was a member of the Blue Key National Honor Society, the Varsity Club, the Bowling League, and the Yamacraw Staff. He was secretary of his junior class and parliamentarian of his senior class.

After graduation, Couch coached several high school and collegiate basketball teams. He returned to Oglethorpe in 1971 to coach the men’s basketball team for one season. Couch received Coach of the Year awards fourteen times in his twenty-year career. He was president of GJCAA for four years, region director of NJCAA for four years, president of the NJCAA Basketball Coaches Association, and a member of the Atlanta Tip-Off Club.

Couch and his wife Nan were married for 37 years and had three children and nine grandchildren. He passed away at age 78 on October 28th, 2017.