| William Reinhart | |
| Birth Date: | 2 August 1896 |
| Death Place: | Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Player Sport1: | Football |
| Player Years2: | 1919–1921 |
| Player Team2: | Oregon |
| Player Positions: | Quarterback |
| Coach Sport1: | Football |
| Coach Years2: | ? |
| Coach Team2: | Oregon (assistant) |
| Coach Years3: | 1938–1941 |
| Coach Team3: | George Washington |
| Coach Years4: | 1945 |
| Coach Team4: | Fleet City |
| Coach Years5: | 1946–1949 |
| Coach Team5: | Merchant Marine |
| Coach Sport6: | Basketball |
| Coach Years7: | 1923–1935 |
| Coach Team7: | Oregon |
| Coach Years8: | 1935–1942 |
| Coach Team8: | George Washington |
| Coach Years9: | 1949–1966 |
| Coach Team9: | George Washington |
| Coach Sport10: | Baseball |
| Coach Years11: | 1924–1935 |
| Coach Team11: | Oregon |
| Coach Years12: | 1950–1966 |
| Coach Team12: | George Washington |
| Admin Years1: | 1946–1949 |
| Admin Team1: | Merchant Marine |
| Overall Record: | 28–42–3 (football) 499–338 (basketball) 295–225–5 (baseball) |
| Championships: | Basketball 2 SoCon regular season (1954, 1956) 2 SoCon tournament (1954, 1961) Baseball 4 SoCon |
| Awards: | Southern Conference Basketball Coach of the Year (1954) Helms Basketball Hall of Fame (1956) George Washington University Athletics Hall of Fame (1993) University of Oregon Athletics Hall of Fame (1994) |
William J. Reinhart (August 2, 1896 – February 14, 1971) was an American college basketball, football, and baseball coach at the George Washington University, the University of Oregon, and the United States Merchant Marine Academy. From 1923 to 1935, he served as the head basketball coach at Oregon. He is the school's second-winningest coach with 180 victories. His record through 13 seasons at Oregon was 180–101. He suffered only one losing season. Largely due to his success, Oregon was forced to build McArthur Court to accommodate the large crowds that became fixtures for Ducks games on his watch.[1]
At George Washington, he compiled a 319–237 record in basketball, or .574 winning percentage, including a 23–3 season in 1953–54. His teams twice made the NCAA tournament, in 1954 and 1961, George Washington's only trips to the NCAA Tournament until Mike Jarvis's team in 1993.[2] Players he coached at George Washington included future Basketball Hall of Famer Red Auerbach and future National Basketball Association (NBA) players Joe Holup, Corky Devlin and Gene Guarilia[2] and at Oregon he coached Howard Hobson. Auerbach said Reinhart's coaching and fast break offenses were "15 years ahead of their time."[1]
Reinhart also was head football coach at George Washington and the United States Merchant Marine Academy, assistant football coach at Oregon, and head baseball coach at Oregon and George Washington.
Reinhart died of cancer on February 14, 1971, at Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.[3] He was inducted into George Washington's athletic hall of fame in 1993.[2]
A collection of papers and memorabilia related to Reinhart is housed in the Special Collections Research Center of The George Washington University. The collection includes correspondence, photographs, certificates, and news clippings. The material ranges in date from 1920 to 1993.[4]