One of the most successful head coaching careers in Northern Kentucky high school basketball ended Tuesday when Ron Dawn announced that he was resigning as boys head coach at Newport Central Catholic.
Two months ago, Dawn retired as principal at NewCath. The press release issued by the high school on Tuesday made no mention of him retiring from coaching all together, but he verified that he was closing the book on his career.
Dawn spent 22 of his 26 seasons as a head coach at NewCath, where he has posted a 340-164 record in 18 seasons as boys head coach and a 91-28 record in four seasons as girls head coach.
Ron Dawn, center, and his NewCath coaching staff pose with the championshp trophy after winning the 2016 9th Region All “A” Classic. (Photo by Jackson Sports Photography, NKyTribune file)
He is the only coach in the state who has won All “A” Classic state championships in both boys and girls basketball. He is also the only coach who has won 9th Region post-season boys and girls championships.
Including the four years he spent as boys head coach at St. Henry High School, Dawn compiled a 429-199 overall record in 22 seasons as a boys head coach and 91-28 record in four seasons as a girls head coach.
That gives him an overall career record of 520-227 for a 69.6 winning percentage.
He currently ranks fifth in career wins among Northern Kentucky boys basketball coaches with 429. The four ahead of him are Ken Shields (460), Stan Arnzen (452), Dave Faust (437) and Jim Connor (431).
“I am grateful to all the young men and ladies I have had the honor of coaching over the years and to all those who coached alongside me,” Dawn said in the press release announcing his resignation at NewCath.
A 1974 graduate of NewCath, Dawn was a standout basketball player who continued his career at Thomas More College. He was named the boys head coach at NewCath in 1990 and spent 11 seasons in charge of the program before taking a break to follow his son’s college basketball career.
Dawn was named the girls head coach at NewCath in 2008. The Thoroughbreds won the All “A” Classic girls state championship in 2010 and the 9th Region post-season tournament in 2011.
After returning to the NewCath boys program in 2013, he added three more All “A” Classic state titles to his list of successes and won the 2016 9th Region post-season tournament with a team that made it to the semifinals in the “Sweet 16” state tournament.
Following the 2015-16 season, Dawn stepped down as head coach once again and then returned to the post in 2019 while he was the school’s principal.
“As a former player, assistant coach, co-worker and mentee of Coach Dawn, I can personally attest to the deep positive impact he has had on multiple generations of players and students,” said NewCath’s current principal Ken Collopy. “Newport Central Catholic High School is forever in debt to his selfless dedication. We are so grateful.”
Jeff Schulkens, the school’s athletic director, said Dawn “has had a tremendous impact on NCC, from being a Hall of Fame player and coach, to a great mentor to student-athletes and younger coaches. He has accomplished things that no other coach in the state of Kentucky has accomplished. His love for the game and devotion to NCC is unmeasurable.”
The school is accepting applications for the vacant coaching position. Please contact athletic director Jeff Schulkens at 859-292-0001 ext. 11 or jschulkens@ncchs.com if interested.
Newport Central Catholic High School and Staff report
