Alumni Hall of Fame
Athletic Achievement (2010)

Damon G. Goodwin, a native of St. Marys, is a member of the Memorial High School Class of 1982. Mr. Goodwin has notably distinguished himself as an outstanding athlete and coach at the high school, collegiate and professional levels.

While a student at Memorial High School, Goodwin was a star athlete playing football and basketball. Damon was a member of the 1979 undefeated Western Buckeye League Championship St. Marys Roughrider football team. This Baughman-led football team earned a number one ranking in Class AA by the Associated Press and United Press International. Goodwin would go on to lead the 1980 and 1981 Roughrider football teams as starting quarterback. In 1981, the Roughriders would again be the undefeated Western Buckeye League Champions and Damon was named the Western Buckeye League Punter of the Year, First Team All Northwest Ohio and Honorable Mention All Ohio. The record-setting team success Goodwin experienced on the gridiron he matched with individual success on the hardcourt. In Damon’s junior year during the 1980 - 1981 season, the St. Marys Roughrider basketball team was the Western Buckeye League Co – Champions, and Goodwin was named the Western Buckeye League Most Valuable Player, First Team All Northwest District and Honorable Mention All Ohio. For his senior season efforts, Damon was named First Team All Western Buckeye League, First Team All Northwest Ohio and First Team All Ohio. At the conclusion of his efforts on the McBroom Gymnasium Court, Damon owned many boys' basketball individual records. For his career, Damon Goodwin was second in most career points with 1190, first in career free throws made at 314 and first in career free throw percentage at .826. His junior season, Goodwin set the record for average points per game for the season at 27.7 points, the most points in a season at 584 points and the most free throws in a season with 162. His senior season he would set the single-game rebounds record with 26.

After graduation from Memorial High School, Damon attended the University of Dayton on a basketball scholarship and played four seasons for the Flyers under Head Coach Don Donaher. As a sophomore, Damon helped lead the Dayton Flyers to the 1984 NCAA Tournament where they made it to the Elite Eight before being knocked out by the eventual National Champion Georgetown Hoyas. During his junior season, the Flyers competed again in the 1985 NCAA Tournament, where the Flyers were again defeated by the eventual National Champion, this time the Villanova Wildcats. In 1986, Damon and his Flyers would miss the Big Dance and would compete in the National Invitation Tournament. Damon would not leave Dayton without making his mark. His teams were 75 – 44 over the four years and Damon never missed a game: playing 119 games, which places him 7th for the Flyers in games played. Damon scored 1,191 points, 29th in school history for points scored. Damon shot .538 from the field (placing him fifth) and shot .860 from the foul line which places him second. Damon also holds the single season free throw percentage mark at .931. Damon graduated from the University of Dayton with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration and Marketing. In January 2010, Damon Goodwin was inducted into the University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame.

Upon graduating from Dayton, Damon was drafted in the seventh round by the National Basketball Association’s Phoenix Suns. After spending the summer out west, Goodwin returned to Ohio to begin his basketball coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Dayton, while earning his Master of Science Degree in Secondary Education. From there, Damon became the Head Basketball Coach at Fairborn High School in Fairborn, Ohio, and would serve as an assistant basketball coach at Wittenberg University for five years. In 1994, Coach Damon Goodwin became the Head Basketball Coach at Capital University, home of the Crusaders.

Since being named Head Basketball Coach at Capital University, Damon has coached the Crusaders into one of the elite basketball programs not only in the Ohio Athletic Conference but in NCAA Division Three Basketball. Goodwin is the winningest coach in Capital University Crusader men’s basketball history, and his teams have won the Ohio Athletic Conference Championship three times, in the 2002 – 2003, 2006 – 2007, and 2007 – 2008 seasons. In the 1995 – 1996 season, his second at Capital, Goodwin’s Crusaders would make a NCAA Division Three Men’s Basketball Tournament appearance. They repeated this appearance in the 2006 – 2007 and 2007 – 2008 seasons. In the 2008 – 2009 season they reached the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Division Three Men’s Basketball Tournament. During this Sweet Sixteen run the Crusaders enjoyed their highest ranking in school history, at number five. Damon has been named Ohio Athletic Conference Coach of the Year four times, in 1996, 2007, 2008, and 2010, and the National Association of Basketball Coaches Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year once, in 2009. In his sixteen seasons at Capital University, Damon’s career record is 267 – 161 and he is only the second coach in Capital University Men’s Basketball History to win over 200 games.



Mr. Goodwin, for his outstanding and superior athletic achievement at the high school, collegiate and professional levels, has earned his place in the St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Foundation Hall of Fame for Athletic Achievement.

The above text, in its entirety, is embossed on a St. Marys Memorial High School Alumni Hall of Fame plaque permanently on display in Memorial High School.