ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996 TAG: 9604290102
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: DANIEL UTHMAN STAFF WRITER
BASKETBALL COACH BILL PULLEN says it's time for a new career after 16 years on the Panthers' bench.
On April 17, Ferrum basketball coach Bill Pullen walked into his office and checked his phone messages. Exactly one week later, thanks to that message, he walked out of the office as a budding insurance agent.
Pullen, 42, officially resigned his post Friday after 11 years as the Panthers' head coach. He is the only men's basketball coach at Ferrum since the team began NCAA Division III play in 1985.
``I guess it's been in the back of my mind since I turned 40,'' he said. ``I looked at it this way: If I did not make a move at this time, hey I'm not going to make one.''
Pullen said he wanted to make a move because he wasn't sure, after 17 years in coaching, he wanted to commit another 17 years to the profession. Although it was known Pullen had been contemplating a move for the past few years, it came faster than expected. Of course, so did the phone call from the Roanoke office of Horace Mann Insurance.
Pullen said an Oct. 27 auto accident that confined him to a wheelchair for a short time had no bearing on his decision. He added that while it was not an easy decision, he didn't want to wait on it. ``It may not make sense, but that's the way I've always been,'' Pullen said. ``There is no cover-up. This is me talking.''
Pullen informed his team this past Wednesday that he would be stepping down. Later, athletic director Ted Kinder spoke to them. ``I wanted to reassure them it was totally his decision,'' Kinder said.
Pullen said he will stay close to the school and the program and continue to work in Franklin County.
Kinder said he soon will meet with Joe Carter, vice president and academic dean of the college, to discuss a strategy for finding a new coach. Kinder said he hopes to initiate the process immediately and wants to avoid a lengthy search.
Two early candidates for the position are Pullen's top assistant this past season, Steve Proefrock, and Blacksburg native Rick Hall, a former student at Ferrum and 1983 graduate of Virginia Tech.
Proefrock came to Ferrum from a Division II program, Bemidji (Minn.) State, where he was an assistant. He was interim head coach at Colorado College during the 1993-94 season. ``I'm definitely applying for the job, I know that,'' Proefrock said.
Hall attended Ferrum in 1978 and 1979, and originally intended to play football as a flanker. But soon he was also working out with the basketball team, and played one season for the late Grant Hudson. ``I've always had a fond spot in my heart for Ferrum,'' Hall said.
Hall also was an assistant at Roanoke College in 1992-93 and most recently was the head coach of the Shreveport (La.) Crawdads of the Continental Basketball Association.
Pullen, a 1979 graduate of Emory & Henry College, came to Ferrum in 1980 as an assistant to Hudson. His first season as head coach was 1985-86, when he led the Panthers to an 18-8 record. Pullen's final Ferrum outfit was 11-13, but finished one game out of its fourth Dixie Athletic Conference regular-season championship in the past five years.
Pullen compiled a 148-137 record at Ferrum. ``I'm leaving the program very solid,'' he said. ``I feel very good about that. I just want to do something else.''
LENGTH: Medium: 67 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: headshot of Pullen colorby CNB