“I’ve been voting here [W.R. McNeill Elementary School] for probably 45 years, both of my daughters went here,” Bobby Rascoe said. Rascoe is a former WKU student services employee and basketball player, ”[College Students] just need to be apart of the future of voting, and expressing their feelings and so forth” Rascoe said.

Bobby Rascoe, a WKU basketball legend and an inaugural member of the WKU Athletics Hall of Fame, passed away Saturday, Aug, 24 at the age of 84.

Rascoe played three seasons as a Hilltopper and in that time made his mark as an all-time Hilltopper great. He was named an All-American his senior season in 1962 and was a two-time All-Ohio Valley Conference First-team member in 1961 and 1962. He was named to the conference’s 40th Anniversary Team in 1988.

Rascoe tallied 1,687 points in his three seasons as a Hilltopper, a number that ranks 12th in program history. His career 20.8 points per game career average ranks fourth in the program’s history.

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Rascoe was not the only one succeeding when he was on the court as WKU tallied 56 wins in the three seasons. Under E.A. Diddle, WKU won the OVC in each of Rascoe’s three seasons and qualified for the NCAA Tournament twice.

Following his time as a Hilltopper, Rascoe was selected by the New York Knicks with the 20th pick in the 1962 NBA draft. He went on to play with the Phillips 66ers of the Amateur Athletic Union from 1962-1967 and finished his pro basketball career with the Kentucky Colonels of the American Basketball Association.

He returned to WKU from 1974-78 as an assistant coach under Jim Richards. In 2012, Rascoe’s No. 45 jersey was retired in Diddle Arena. He was one of 11 players in the program’s history to hold that honor.

There will be a visitation on Wednesday Aug. 28 at 4 pm and Thursday Aug. 29 at 10 am at First Baptist Church of Bowling Green. The funeral will begin Thursday at noon.