Legendary Covington Catholic High School basketball coach and business teacher Dan Tieman passed away this morning following a long battle with cancer.

 

Dan attended Covington Catholic himself beginning in 1954, and was a member of the 1958 Regional Runners-up Colonels. He went on to play at Villa Madonna College, now Thomas More College, and then a season with the NBA Cincinnati Royals.

 

He taught at the Park Hills Catholic school for 46 years, and won over 300 (314) games while serving as the Colonels head coach from 1985 to 2000. His Colonels won the 9th Region Championship in 1992 and were runners-up in 1994, 1995, and 1999.

 

Dan was a man of faith, and lived his faith by example.

 

I am among a legion of folks here in Northern Kentucky who had the privlege of knowing him and considering myself among one of his many friends. I once went to Coach T and volunteered to come speak to his fishing club about my experiences and expertise in fishing in Canada. I was politely turned down by Dan, who very simply stated that "all we do is fish."

 

He will be sorely missed by the Colonels family and the entire Northern Kentucky Sports community.

Thanks for posting. We miss him already. Love ya Coach T.

Prayers and angels for his family and the Cov Catholic family.

One of the greatest individuals and Father figures of my life.

 

If it weren't for him and Coach Cronin, I have no idea what I would have become after my Father died during my Freshmen year at CovCath.

 

As Mustang said "he was a man of faith and lived his faith by example". He showed me and others at CovCath that a man could follow his faith and still be a mans, mans!

 

God has a great one on his team in Heaven today!

He want makes Covcath a great place to go and better a great place to send your son

It's statements like yours that confirms the fact that the price our parents paid for our Catholic education was well worth their sacrifaces.

One of the greatest individuals and Father figures of my life.

 

If it weren't for him and Coach Cronin, I have no idea what I would have become after my Father died during my Freshmen year at CovCath.

 

As Mustang said "he was a man of faith and lived his faith by example". He showed me and others at CovCath that a man could follow his faith and still be a mans, mans!

 

God has a great one on his team in Heaven today!

My two boys were blessed to have crossed paths at CCH with Coach T and they'll tell you they're better for it. When I heard this today I texted my boys and some of their buddies. They all said the same thing - great man.

 

There are two people who ARE Covington Catholic - Dan Tieman and Jack Kaelin.

 

God bless Coach T.

So sad. I had more respect for Coach T than any other human on the planet. He'll never be forgotten. Absolute legend. Great teacher, coach, and a better man. RIP

If you all could read my news feed on Facebook it would make you want to cry. Unbelievable how many people's lives he touched. My 500 or so Cov Cath friends on Facebook proved that.

If you all could read my news feed on Facebook it would make you want to cry. Unbelievable how many people's lives he touched. My 500 or so Cov Cath friends on Facebook proved that.

 

Coach T would be overwhelmed by the number of posts in his honor. He truly was a great man! May he rest in peace.

Coming soon if I was king:

 

Dan Tieman Court

Coming soon if I was king:

 

Dan Tieman Court

 

If that is true, it's a damn shame he won't be there to experience it.

Dan Tieman: A Teacher To Appreciate

WKYT-TV blog

 

By Don McNay

May 4, 2010.

 

The first week of May was Teacher Appreciation Week. One that I was glad to have was Dan Tieman.

"I've been taking care of business every day

Taking care of business every way"

 

-Bachman Turner Overdrive

 

"Mr. Holland isn't rich and he isn't famous. He's achieved a success far beyond riches and fame. There is not a life in this room that you have not touched. We are your symphony, Mr. Holland. We are the melodies and the notes of your opus. We are the music of your life."

 

- Character in the movie Mr. Holland's Opus

 

The first week of May was Teacher Appreciation Week. One that I was glad to have was Dan Tieman.

 

Tieman was once an NBA point guard. He played a season with the Cincinnati Royals (now the Sacramento Kings) and was a legend in the rough neighborhood where both he and my parents grew up, in Covington, Kentucky.

 

To have a neighborhood guy wind up in the National Basketball Association was an awe- inspiring achievement.

 

I knew about Dan Tieman (and his brother, Roger) long before Dan became my teacher at Covington Catholic High School.

 

I heard about Mr. Tieman, but not from Mr. Tieman.

 

Mr. Tieman never talked about his NBA career. I heard him reference it one time in the context of a story about someone else. Otherwise, it never came up.

 

Covington Catholic was (and is) a sports powerhouse.. Many of my teachers had big athletic resumes. The basketball coach, Dick Maile, was an All-American at Louisiana State University (LSU) and he rarely talked about that, either.

 

The lesson learned was that the higher your achievement, the less inclined you are to brag about it.

 

Dan Tieman is a guy who let his deeds, not his words, do the talking. When he took over as the head coach of Covington Catholic's basketball team, he won over 300 games, more than any other coach of that prestigious program.

 

Mr. Tieman has always been a guy focused on 'taking care of business."

 

Now he is wrapping up a 46-year teaching career at Covington Catholic.

 

Tieman taught business courses. I don't think he ever ran a company, but he was a street- smart man and passed those lessons along to us.

 

He talked about men who blew their entire paychecks drinking in bars or playing slot machines. He told us about college students who ran through financial aid money and had to drop out.

 

He was a stand-up guy and expected the same out of us.

 

34 years later, I still remember his teaching. It made an impact on my life.

 

I've seen business instructors who remind me of a character in the Rodney Dangerfield movie, "Back to School," all up in the Ivory Tower and not connected to real life.

 

That's not Dan Tieman. Real life is his neighborhood.

 

Mr. Tieman reminds me of Carl Kremer at Moeller High School in Cincinnati. Carl was one of my closest college friends and now he is one of the nation's top high school basketball coaches.

 

Both Carl and Mr. Tieman came from working-class backgrounds and maintained their respect for hard work and achievement.

 

One of the reasons that the 1995 movie, Mr. Holland's Opus, was a huge success was that Glen Holland, the title character played by Richard Dreyfuss, connected with so many of us.

 

It reminded us that teachers have the unique opportunity to change people's lives. Not many other professions can truly say that.

 

I hit the jackpot at Covington Catholic. I came there as an uninterested and troubled child and left as a motivated young adult, with big dreams and aspirations.

 

I've written several columns about the school's history teachers, Tim Banker and Joe Hackett, and what they did for me.

 

The school was blessed with a number of outstanding people, like Dan Tieman, who devoted their lifetimes to teaching and stayed at the school long enough to impact at least a couple of generations.

 

High school is a tricky time. It's where some start to reach for the stars and others fall behind and never catch up.

 

Dan Tieman had the work ethic and vision to jump from tiny Villa Madonna College (now Thomas More College) to the NBA.

 

He spent 46 years at Covington Catholic, teaching thousands of young men the ability to dream big and achieve those big dreams.

 

I am thankful I was one of them.

 

Covington Catholic is holding a retirement party for Mr. Tieman in the school gymnasium on Sunday, May 16th. 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. They have also established the Dan Tieman Scholarship. To donate, you can send a check to: Covington Catholic High School, 1600 Dixie Hwy, Park Hills, KY 41011

God Speed Coach T.

"With a Spirit That Will Not Die".

Tim Sullivan ‏@coachsully11

Prayers go out 2 the Tieman & CCH family! Heaven was blessed w/ a Gr8 Man 2day! Blessed I had chance 2 know Coach Dan Tieman. #rolemodel