California University of Pennsylvania Athletics

Cal U’s men’s basketball program has been one the most successful in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) and one individual who continued and enhanced the Vulcans’ rich history is Myles Witchey.

Not only was Witchey one of the school’s most successful basketball coaches, he was also a longtime distinguished faculty member. He began teaching at Cal U as an assistant professor of physical education in the fall of 1962 and retired as the department head in January of 1988. Witchey received professor emeritus status by the Council of Trustees in April 1988.

He is originally from Belmont, Ohio, and a 1948 graduate of Belmont High School, where he competed in basketball and softball. Witchey earned his degree in education from West Liberty, a master’s degree from West Virginia University, and served in the U.S. Army for two years. Before starting his exemplary teaching and coaching career at Cal U, Witchey taught mathematics and was the head basketball coach for three years at St. Clairsville, Ohio. He also coached and taught briefly in Los Angeles, California, before coming to California, Pa.

Witchey was a fixture as the Cal U men’s basketball coach, guiding the Vulcans from 1962-63 through 1977-78. He guided the 1966-67 Vulcans to the school’s first-ever PSAC-West title and appearance in the state championship game, where Cal lost to Cheyney.

Three years later, Witchey coached the 1969-70 Cal U team to a school-best 20-5 overall record. That squad won the first of seven PSAC championships for Cal U in men’s basketball. That team’s .800 winning percentage remained the best in school history until 1988. Witchey was the 1970 PSAC and NAIA District 18 Coach of the Year. Cal’s first basketball state championship culminated with the host Vulcans defeating heavily-favored Cheyney by a 110-91 score. Before that game, the Wolves had won four of the past five state titles. Cal’s riveting 19-point upset win avenged the championship game setback of 1967 and is still regarded as one of the most exciting moments in school athletic history. Witchey’s 1969-70 team was one of only four PSAC-West schools to win the conference championship from 1961 through 1984. Before winning the state title, Cal won close playoff games over Edinboro twice and Westminster.

After going 8-32 after his first two seasons of rebuilding and adjusting, Witchey coached Cal U to 182 basketball victories and still ranks second among all Vulcan hoop coaches in career victories. Over his final 14 years, Witchey’s cumulative record was 167-150 with nine winning seasons and the school’s first two of 12 state championship game appearances.

Semi-retired, Witchey commutes between Lexington, Kentucky, and California. He is a former member of the NAIA Coaches Association and NAIA Tournament Selection committee. Witchey is still a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He has two grown children, Brian and Myles II.