Coach Charles Ripley's life epitomized the life of service to mankind by the love he expressed by helping others help themselves.

LITTLE ROCK, AR, USA, July 1, 2020 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Coach Charles Ripley was born June 12, 1946 to Charles and Evelyn Ripley, passed away June 28, 2020. An alumni of Little Rock Central High School, Coach Rip graduated from University of Arkansas - Little Rock and received his masters degree from UA - Fayetteville. Charles never played organized football past the eighth grade. As a high school student at Central, Charles served as a manager on the school’s basketball team and during the football season worked in the concession stand, making popcorn.

Coach Rip, as the world knew him, epitomized the life of service to mankind by the love he expressed by helping others help themselves. In his own words, he said, “I’ve known since I was 10 or 11 years old that I wanted to be a coach.” It was his philosophy of life that he put into action on a daily basis as he fulfilled his life’s mission of investing himself in every young person he worked with.

Coach Ripley started coaching and working with youth when he was a teenager and never stopped. He started getting paid to coach in 1967 as the head basketball coach for the Little Rock Catholic High School freshman team. The next year Coach Rip became the head basketball coach at Little Rock Forest Heights Junior High and in 1970 he was also named head football coach.

Early in his career, Rip set the tone for his coaching career when his 1969-70 basketball team won the state junior high title, and his football squad was city champion. Rip’s name became synonymous with winning as he led Forest Heights to back-to-back city football championships in 1972 and 1973.

The Ripley basketball dynasty started in 1974 when he was hired as the head basketball coach at Little Rock Parkview where he amassed a 487-145 win-loss record. During the 21 years leading the Patriots, his teams won five state championships (1978, 1988, 1992, 1993 and 1995), 10 conference championships and two overall championships (1988 and 1992). In 1993, Rip was selected to coach in the McDonald’s High School All-American Game.

Rip was inducted into the Arkansas High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 1999 and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. Parkview named its basketball facility the Charles Ripley Gymnasium, but most know it as “Rip Arena”.

After assisting Keith Jackson in mentoring and developing youth at Positive Atmosphere Reaches Kids (PARK), he followed Dr. Fitzgerald Hill to Arkansas Baptist College as Athletic Director. At Arkansas Baptist College, Coach Ripley continued being a blessing to thousands of young men and women as they pursued their degrees in higher education as student-athletes.

Coach Ripley loved all students. And through love, he taught and coached them into believing in their potential for greatness, in their ability to achieve success in all areas of their lives, and to find the good in others both on and off the court.

Coach Ripley was color-blind. Throughout his life he showed the same love and respect to everyone he met....and they immediately knew he loved and respected them, without hesitation...without reservation. He reached inside each person and found the goodness, the gifts, the potential in each life. His actions always spoke so clearly he didn’t have to say anything. His love was unconditional.

He treated his players as if they were his own. He fed, clothed, transported, counseled, and helped to meet the needs of those who needed him. There was no agenda. No quid pro quo. There was no expectation of anything in return. He just did it out of love…and the kids loved him right back. He was a father to many of the fatherless.

On Thursday, July 2nd, the City of Little Rock will honor the late legendary coach with an official “Coach Charles Ripley Day” to recognize the monumental impact he had on Central Arkansas.

Those who would like to pay their respects to Coach Rip may come to War Memorial Stadium on Thursday, July 2nd, from 3 pm to 8 pm, where his casket will be available for viewing.

Drive Time Sports and The Westrock Coffee Recruiting Intelligence Report Presented by NFP Insurance on 103.7 The Buzz, will broadcast live from the stadium with Randy Rainwater, Marcus Elliott and Fitz Hill from 4 pm to 8 pm to honor Coach Rip. On Friday, there will be a private burial service to conclude activities.

Due to COVID-19 Protocols, all attendees coming to pay respect to Coach Rip must adhere to Social Distancing Guidelines and protective masks will be required. Next year on his birthday, there will be a celebration of life ceremony to honor Coach Rip’s legacy.

In the interim, in lieu of flowers, Coach Rip had one request; he wanted to continue supporting and meeting the needs of the student-athletes who enrolled at Arkansas Baptist College. The Arkansas Baptist College Foundation is honoring his request by establishing the “Rip It Scholarship Fund” to assist student-athletes in their dreams to pursue higher education. The Arkansas Baptist College Foundation is a 501c3 tax exempt organization and all donations are tax deductible as permitted by law.

The scholarships you fund will be for those who have potential, they just need an opportunity. Please get in the game and help continue Coach Rip’s history of giving. Your generosity will ensure that the life and legacy of Coach Rip continues to flourish for the next generation and keep Rip’s commitment of giving back alive.

Show your love for “Coach Rip” - Just Rip It and contribute today.
And with your commitment to the kids Coach loved, may Coach Charles Ripley, Rest In Peace.

Dr. Fitz Hill
Arkansas Baptist College
+1 501-698-1938
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