WVU Sports Hall of Fame

Inducted: 2013

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Dale Blaney, who helped West Virginia to three men’s basketball NCAA tournaments and one NIT from 1983-86, started 110 games as a Mountaineer. He helped WVU to records of 23-8, 20-12, 20-9 and 22-11 during his career.

The Hartford, Ohio, native finished his career with 1,522 points, which currently ranks 18th all-time in school history. At the time, Blaney was the 23rd player to record 1,000 career points at WVU. He ranks 16th in career assists (331), 10th in career double-figure games (80), 10th in career free throws made (376) and 10th in career free throw percentage (.813).

Blaney averaged 17.0 points as a senior and finished with a 12.3 average for his career. A four-year letterwinner and two-time team captain, Blaney had a career-high 29 points against George Mason on Jan. 9, 1986.

Blaney was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Conference First Team in 1986 and the Atlantic 10 All-Rookie Team in 1983. He was named to the Atlantic 10 All-Tournament Teams in 1984 and 1986. Blaney was named to the NIT All-Star Team that toured Korea and Hong Kong, and is a member of the 1986-95 All-Time basketball team at WVU. In high school, he was a two-time Ohio Class A all-state player.

He was selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the fourth round of the 1986 NBA Draft. Blaney played a year and a half in the Continental Basketball Association, first with title-winning Tampa Bay and then with the Charleston Gunners.
Since then, he has made a career in auto racing. Blaney was named World of Outlaws Rookie of the Year in 1998, National Sprint Car Rookie of the Year in 1990, Bush Points Champion in 1991 and the All-Star Series Points Champion in 1995, 1996 and 2008.

Blaney has two daughters, Ashley and Leah. His brother, Dave, currently drives car No. 7 in the NASCAR Sprint Cup series.