TicketsCINCINNATI — Cincinnati Athletics mourns the passing of former men’s basketball head coach and student-athlete Taylor “Tay” Baker, who died surrounded by his family on Tuesday.
A 1996 inductee into the James P. Kelly Cincinnati Athletics Hall of Fame, Baker was sixth man on the 1948, 1949 and 1950 basketball teams that compiled a 60-18 record and won three Mid-American Conference titles, before returning as an assistant coach in 1959, helping Ed Jucker’s Bearcats to four Final Fours and back-to-back NCAA titles in 1961 and 1962.
He went on to succeed Jucker as head coach in 1965, leading his first team to the Missouri Valley Conference title and an Elite Eight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. He went on to compile a 125-60 record in seven seasons as head coach of the Bearcats. Baker and his 1965-66 Bearcats’ team were inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2024.
“Tay Baker represented the very best of Cincinnati Athletics and leaves behind an incredible legacy as both a Bearcats player and coach,” Director of Athletics John Cunningham said. “He was part of one of the greatest eras in our history, first as a student-athlete and later helping lead Cincinnati to national championships and tremendous success as a coach. I was fortunate to get to know Tay and spend time with many of the Bearcats he coached, and his pride in this university and the relationships he built here never faded. Our entire Bearcats family mourns his passing, and our thoughts are with his family, friends, former players and teammates.”
Baker later went on to coach at Xavier, helping the team achieve its first winning season in 12 years during his third year as head coach.
Cincinnati Athletics will provide memorial information when it is available.