Thomas J. Folliard, 61, a Washington native and retired college basketball coach who took three different teams to the NCAA Division II tournament, died of cancer Sept. 28 at Georgetown University Hospital. He lived in Washington.
He was a member of the Friars' 1961 National Invitational Tournament championship team. His collegiate teammates included future Georgetown University men's basketball coach John Thompson, future NBA player and coach Lenny Wilkens and future U.S. ambassador to the Vatican and Boston mayor Ray Flynn.
Mr. Folliard graduated from Providence, then served two years in the Army before he left active duty as a first lieutenant to start a career as a basketball coach.
He was basketball coach and athletic director at Bryant College in Smithfield, R.I., from 1968 to 1978; basketball coach and athletic director at Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., from 1978 to 1984; and basketball coach at Florida Institute of Technology from 1984 until his retirement in 1991.
In 1990, Mr. Folliard's Florida Tech team had a season record of 25-2 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the Division II tournament. His career record was 399 wins and 212 losses.
He was inducted into the Stonehill College and Bryant College halls of fame and was named coach of the year in 1990 by the Sunshine State Conference and the Division II South District.
After retiring from coaching, Mr. Folliard returned to Washington, where he was director of sales and marketing for Barclay Career School. Later, he directed marketing and admissions at the Technical Education Center in Rockville, and for the past two years, worked as a senior loan officer for Accubanc Mortgage Corp. in Bethesda.
His marriage to his first wife, Audrey Folliard, of 35 years, ended in divorce. His second wife, Susan Carroll Folliard, died in 1994.
Survivors include four children from his first marriage, Denise Sousa of Palm Bay, Fla., Susan MacLean of North Attleboro, Mass., Thomas J. Folliard IV of Richmond and Kevin J. Folliard of Austin; his mother, Mildred Folliard of Washington; a brother, James Folliard of Washington; and seven grandchildren.
