Ricky Byrdsong

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Image:Ricky brydsong.jpg Ricky Byrdsong (June 24, 1956 - July 2, 1999) was a former Northwestern University basketball coach. Byrdsong coached the Wildcats from 1993 to 1997, leading them to a National Invitation Tournament berth in 1994. He had also been head coach at the University of Arizona and assistant coach at Eastern Illinois University, Western Michigan University and Iowa State University, his alma mater.

Death

On July 2, 1999, Byrdsong was murdered by spree killer Benjamin Nathaniel Smith, a white supremacist of the World Church of the Creator. Byrdsong was shot as he jogged alongside his two youngest children, ages 8 and 10, near their home in Skokie, Illinois. He was fired at seven times; an autopsy later revealed a severed aorta and determined the cause of death to be internal bleeding.

The Ricky Byrdsong Foundation

The Ricky Byrdsong Foundation was started after his death by Byrdsong's wife, Sherialyn Byrdsong. The mission of the Ricky Byrdsong Foundation is to "arrest the growing epidemic of hate and violence in our society by and against our youth." The Ricky Byrdsong Foundation holds a number of events in and around Evanston. The most well known as come to be the Race Against Hate, a 5k running race held anually in late June. The race draws hundreds from Evanston, the Chicago area, and further.Template:Hoopsbio-stub