Robert (Bob) Erickson, originally from Wakefield, Neb., was not only a star athlete at Doane, but was also successful as the men's basketball coach from 1962-98. On Sunday, Erickson, one of the most recognizable names in Doane College athletics, passed away at the age of 79.

He returned to Doane in 1962 and took over the men's basketball program while serving as an assistant football coach. The Tiger basketball team picked up their first winning season under Erickson in his third year as coach and the team finished the 1964-65 season with a 16-9 record. The winning season marked the first of 13 consecutive winning seasons for Erickson, which included three 20-plus win seasons and two NAIA National Tournament berths.

In 1975-76, the Tigers finished with a 21-9 record and upset No. 12 seeded Norfolk State University (Va.), 80-79, in the first round of the NAIA National Tournament. He continued to produce successful teams that played some of the toughest competition, the likes of the University of Southern California (USC), University of Oregon and the Air Force Academy until the early 1980s.

Erickson served as Doane College Athletic Director from 1972-98 in addition to his coaching duties. During his tenure, Doane added women's athletic programs in 1972 and introduced men's and women's soccer in 1996. He also hired three coaches in particular who took Doane athletic programs to new heights. He hired Gene Steinmeyer as women's basketball coach and Fran Schwenk to lead the football program in 1984 and Cindy Meyer to take the reigns of the volleyball program in 1987. All three coaches went on to becoming the winningest coaches in their respective sports at Doane.

When his coaching career ended, he had collected a 589-483 record, 11th all-time for wins in the NAIA. His teams posted 27 winning seasons. He received the Doane Honor D Award in 1979 and was inducted into the Doane Athletic Hall-of-Fame in 1998. In 1997, he was inducted into the NAIA Hall-of-Fame. In 36 years as head coach, Erickson produced 10 NAIA All-Americans, was named the State College Coach-of-the-Year by the Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha World Herald, was cited for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Award and received the NABC Merit Award for Distinguished Coaching.

Services for Erickson will be held on Thursday, June 18, at 11:00 AM at Christ's Place Church in Lincoln. The address for the church is 1111 Old Cheney Road.