| Overall UK Wins: 1 | Overall UK Losses: 0 | Win % 100 |
Date of Birth: June 3, 1914
Date of Death: July 18, 1991
Hometown: Atlanta, GA
Alma Mater: Auburn
Notes: Coach at Auburn
For a generalized listing of officials, please consult this page.
| Date | Matchup | W/L | Score | UK Fouls | Opp Fouls | UK FTA | Opp FTA | UK DQ | Opp DQ | Technicals | Officiating Crew |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1/21/1947 | Kentucky at Georgia | W | 84 - 45 | 10 | 22 | 29 | 15 | 0 | 1 | - | Pete Melton and Joel Eaves |
Obituary - Florence (Al) Times Daily (July 19, 1991)
Ex-Tiger Coach Eaves Dies of Heart Failure
ATHENS, Ga. -- Joel Eaves, who led Auburn to its only Southeastern Conference basketball title and was credited with turning around the Georgia athletic department, died Thursday. He was 77.
Eaves died at an Athens hospital of heart failure. He was named athletic director at the University of Georgia in November 1963 after serving 14 years as a basketball coach at Auburn.
One month later, Eaves hired Vince Dooley, a 31-year-old assistant football coach at Auburn, to take the reins of the Georgia football program.
Dooley coached the Bulldogs for 25 years until his retirement after the 1988 season.
At Auburn, Eaves compiled a record of 214-99 and directed the Tigers to the SEC title in 1959-60. The school's basketball arena was renamed Eaves-Memorial Coliseum in 1987.
"Coach Eaves was a positive influence in the character development of so many young men at Auburn University and in this community," current Auburn coach Tommy Jo Eagles said, "He meant a lot to the Auburn family in so many ways."
Eaves was Georgia's athletic director from 1963 to 1979, when he was succeeded by Dooley. One year after Eaves' retirement, Georgia won the national football championship.
Eaves was credited with moving Georgia into national prominence in football and other sports.
"He made landmark contributions to Georgia's program as athletic director," said assistant athletic director Dan Magill. "He succeeded 100 percent in the mandates given him by the athletic board, which were, first, to get the athletic association out of the red, which he did; secondly, to upgrade the athletic facilities, which he did; and thirdly, to get good coaches who could field representative teams in every sport."
During Eaves' 16-year tenure, Georgia's athletic teams won 19 SEC championships in football, golf and tennis. Sixteen Bulldog teams earned invitations to 11 bowl games.
Born on the Georgia state line in Copperhill, Tenn., Eaves grew up in Atlanta and graduated from Tech High School. While an honor student at Auburn, he earned eight varsity letters. He graduated in 1937.
