Richard Patrick Versace is a former basketball coach and executive. He is also the first American of Puerto Rican descent to have coached a National Basketball Association (NBA) team.
Versace is best known to Peoria area residents as the winning coach of Bradley University’s basketball team. But his career as an educator, coach, TV analyst, and sports executive goes beyond his record at Bradley.
He was born on April 16, 1940, in Fort Bragg, North Carolina 1940. His father was a West Point graduate and full Colonel in the U.S. Army.
His mother was the editor and author Tere Rios, best known for “The Flying Nun” (1967) which became a television series based on her novel “The Fifteenth Pelican.“
Versace graduated from high school in Madison, Wisc. where he played football and basketball.
He graduated in 1964 from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a B.S. in P.E. and an English minor.
After success at Bradley, Versace shifted on to the NBA, as an assistant coach for the Detroit Pistons and head coach of the Indiana Pacers.
He made another career jump and became a sports analyst for NBC-TV in Chicago, then the cable channel TNT which gave him a national audience.
On October 8, 2007, Versace declared that he would run as a Democrat for the 18th Congressional District seat then held by Republican Congressman Ray Lahood, who was retiring.
However, On December 8, 2007, he announced that he would not be running due to unforeseen personal circumstances.
He died on Friday, February 24, 2022, at 81.
Dick Versace Wife: Vicki?Who Is Dick Versace’s Third Wife
Vicki is the third wife of Dick Versace. The pair have been married for a decade.
She is a real estate broker and salesperson.
Dick Versace had two children from his first marriage, David, a web designer, and Julie, an advertising sales representative, both in Chicago.