Runey to retire as BE’s athletic director, winningest coach in ’23-24

After months of speculation, rumor and innuendo, Bishop England High School girls’ basketball coach Paul Runey confirmed this is his penultimate season as coach and athletic director. The 2023-24 season will be his farewell tour.

 

Runey added the caveat, “I know you are supposed to never say never,” who enters this week’s play with a 759-208 career record – third all time in South Carolina girls’ high school basketball history.  

 

“But I think it’s time for someone else to take over,” Runey said. “There are some things I would like to do that don’t involve basketball and I can’t do them because of the basketball commitment. I still have the passion, but it’s time.”

 

Runey trails only Ann Long and Fred Senter in all time wins in girls’ hoops. Long coached Dutch Fork and Spring Valley from 1974-2015 and is tops with 824 victories. Senter coached Mullins from 1961-2006 and tallied 792 victories.

 

“Any coach will tell you and I know it sounds cliché, but winning all those games is a result of the program,” Runey said. “I have been blessed with great players and coaches. The point is, I’ve never won one game. We have had some great kids come up through the program.”

 

Runey was named girls’ coach in time for the 1983-84 season and has never had a losing season. He’s saved his best for last. The team won its first of six state championships during the 2011-12 season and since then, the Bishops have won 249 of their last 286 games.

 

Runey, who was inducted into the SCBCA Hall of Fame in 2014, is a throwback to the old days when loyalty meant everything. He graduated from BE in 1974 and was offered an assistant football coach’s position by legendary coach Jack Cantey in 1975, even though he was a student at the College of Charleston. He also served as a baseball, wrestling and tennis coach for the Battling Bishops.

 

This marks Runey’s 39th year as the girls’ basketball coach and by the time next year rolls around, he’ll have 50 years under his coaching belt at BE.

 

While his coaching accomplishments are storied, he was named the school’s athletic director in time for the 1999-2000 season when Bishop England was transitioning from its old location on Calhoun Street to its new home on Daniel Island.

 

Before the athletic facilities on Daniel Island, the Bishops were nomads when it came to practicing and playing at different venues. 

 

The Bishops had 36 state championships to its credit before the move to Daniel Island, with most coming in volleyball and other country club sports. Since moving to Daniel Island, BE has claimed 121 state titles to push their overall haul to 157 crowns.

 

Runey has been hands-on as the school’s athletic director. He led a group of volunteers who laid the sod of the new football facility in 1999, even though it was his and his wife Patty’s anniversary. The couple was married for 37 years before she passed away last March.