Gene Sullivan was an American basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 coach and collegiate athletic director

Athletic director

An athletic director is an administrator at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic programs...

.

Sullivan grew up on the Northwest Side of Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

 and attended the University of Notre Dame

University of Notre Dame

The University of Notre Dame du Lac is a Catholic research university located in Notre Dame, an unincorporated community north of the city of South Bend, in St. Joseph County, Indiana, United States...

. After serving with the United States Army in the Korean War

Korean War

The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...

, he became a boys' basketball coach at Loyola Academy

Loyola Academy

Loyola Academy is a private, co-educational college preparatory high school, located in Wilmette, Illinois, a northern suburb of Chicago. Located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago, it is one of 47 Jesuit high schools in the United States and is a member of the Jesuit Secondary Education...

 in Wilmette, Illinois

Wilmette, Illinois

Wilmette is a village in New Trier Township, Cook County, Illinois, United States. It is located north of Chicago's downtown district and has a population of 27,651. Wilmette is considered a bedroom community in the North Shore district...

, and guided them to three Chicago Catholic League

Chicago Catholic League

The Chicago Catholic League is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, USA. All of the schools are currently part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports...

 titles between 1957 and 1967. In 1967, he became an assistant coach to Johnny Dee

John Dee (basketball coach)

John F. Dee, Jr. was head basketball coach at the University of Notre Dame from 1964 to 1971.During Dee's seven seasons at the helm of Notre Dame Basketball, he compiled a record of 116 wins and 80 losses. Dee lead the Fighting Irish to four NCAA tournament appearances and one birth in the...

 at the University of Notre Dame, and hoped to succeed Dee as head coach. When Dee retired in 1971, however, the school hired Digger Phelps

Digger Phelps

Richard "Digger" Phelps is a former American college basketball coach, most notably of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish men's basketball team from 1971 to 1991. Since 1993, he has served as an analyst on ESPN.-Career:...

 as head coach, and a disappointed Sullivan spent the next few years writing a basketball book and running a limousine

Limousine

A limousine is a luxury sedan or saloon car, especially one with a lengthened wheelbase or driven by a chauffeur. The chassis of a limousine may have been extended by the manufacturer or by an independent coachbuilder. These are called "stretch" limousines and are traditionally black or white....

 company.

From 1975 to 1978, Sullivan worked as DePaul University

DePaul University

DePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...

's athletic director. He then became athletic director at Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Chicago

Loyola University Chicago is a private Jesuit research university located in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded by the Society of Jesus in 1870 under the title St...

, and took over as men's basketball coach in 1980. In 1985, his Loyola Ramblers

Loyola Ramblers

The Loyola Ramblers are the varsity sports teams of Loyola University Chicago. Most teams compete in the Horizon League of the NCAA Division I...

, led by Alfredrick Hughes

Alfredrick Hughes

Alfredrick Hughes is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the first round in the 1985 NBA Draft. A 6'5" shooting guard from Loyola University Chicago, Hughes played in only one NBA season...

, reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, where they lost to Georgetown University

Georgetown University

Georgetown University is a private, Jesuit, research university whose main campus is in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded in 1789, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States...

. Sullivan left Loyola in 1989 with a 149-114 career record.

Sullivan spent the next few years as head of recreational programs for the Chicago Park District

Chicago Park District

The Chicago Park District is the oldest and largest park district in the U.S.A, with a $385 million annual budget. It has the distinction of spending the most per capita on its parks, even more than Boston in terms of park expenses per capita...

. He later worked as director of an anti-gang youth program with the Cook County State's Attorney's office and as a radio analyst for DePaul basketball radio broadcasts. He died of a staph infection at age 70 in February 2002.

Loyola has not returned to the NCAA Tournament since Sullivan's team made its 1985 appearance. The school honored the team in 2009.