Owen Long was a two-time basketball All-America selection and two-time Academic All-America® selection as a Rock student-athlete.
A native of Berlin and graduate of Shanksville High School, Long was a two-sport athlete at The Rock. In addition to earning three letters in basketball, Long was The Rock’s starting right fielder three seasons in baseball.
Long made left his biggest mark on the basketball court, where he helped lead The Rock to 56 wins in three seasons, highlighted by a 23-7 record and fourth-place finish in the 1973 NAIA national tournament.
Long was the No. 4 scorer (11.2 points per game) on the national-tournament team before taking over the scoring lead in both his junior (13.3 ppg) and senior seasons (13.7 ppg) and finished his three-year Rock career with 958 points for a 12.6 points per game average.
Long earned honorable mention NAIA All-America, first-team NAIA All-District 18 and first-team All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference honors in each of his final two seasons at Slippery Rock. He also received honorable mention Associated Press All-Pennsylvania College Basketball Team honors in his last two seasons of collegiate competition.
In addition to his athletic honors, Long was a first-team College Sports Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) College Division Academic All-America® selection in 1974-75 after receiving second-team Academic All-America® status the previous season. He culminated his collegiate career by earning an NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship in 1975.
Long played six seasons on the Campus Crusade for Christ Athletes in Action team and two seasons in the Western Australia Perth Basketball League following graduation from Slippery Rock in 1975. He earned all-tournament honors as a member of Athletes in Action and was the Most Valuable Player in both of his seasons in the Western Australian league. He also won the Free Throw and Assist awards in Australia.
The recipient of a master’s degree from Delta State University (1979), Long taught health and driver education at Meyersdale Area High School for 20 years and coached the boys basketball team for 13 seasons.
Long and his wife, Cynthia, are the proud parents of three daughters and two sons and reside in Meyersdale.
