Central State College won NAIA National Championships in 1965 and 1968. The Marauders had a dominant team in 1965, going unbeaten in 30 games. They won national tournament games by 21, 14, 9 and 16 points before trouncing Oklahoma Baptist, 85-51, in the title game. CSU’s Kenneth Wilburn was named most valuable player in the tournament. He grabbed 90 rebounds in five games – an average of 18 per game. Three years later the Marauders won with a strong defensive team that limited foes to 56.6 points per game. They won national tournament games by 17, 7, 19 and 31 points to set up a narrow 51-48 decision over Fairmont State for the championship. The 1968 team finished with a 32-4 record.
Left to Right: Ed Couts, WC Lucas, Head Coach; Ken Wilburn, Dewayne Lipkins, Ed Waller, Tim Avery, Ted Day, Avery Godfrey, William Anderson, Ed Bryan, Bob Butler, Terry Taylor, Darius Cunningham, Jerome Tillman, Robert Hunt, Norman Ward, Assistant Coach.
L-R Front Row: Graham Russell, Robert Moore, Bobby Jenkins, Clarence Lane. Second Row: Keith Smith, Allen Thigpen, Joe Morris, Leon Singleton, Roy Hinton. Third Row: John Hike, Sterling Quant, Paul Bullard, Chris Buchanan.
