Lou Henson began his college coaching career at Hardin-Simmons University in 1962. Following a successful tenure where he went 67-36, Henson moved onto to coach at New Mexico State and Illinois over a very long and successful career. Henson won almost 800 games in stints at three schools and guided New Mexico State to the NCAA Final Four in 1970. Following his tenure at New Mexico State, Henson spent 21 seasons at Illinois and is the all-time leader in wins with 423. He coached the Illini to the Final Four in 1989, one of just two Illinois teams to achieve that honor.