selected for the National Invitation Tournament after a season which included wins over Xavier, Akron, Toledo, Cincinnati, and archrival Miami. With the play of Frank Baumholtz, the Bobcats finished as runners-up in the tournament to perennial power Long Island University. Baumholtz, known as the "Midvale Marvel", earned tournament MVP honors and All-American status for his NIT performance. Following his Ohio career, he became one of a few to play two professional sports – basketball with the Cleveland Rebels in 1946–47 and baseball with the Chicago Cubs, Cincinnati Reds, and Philadelphia Phillies over a 10-year career. After several more winning seasons under Trautwein, the Bobcats undertook a new challenge in 1946 when they joined the new Mid-American Conference. The 'Cats were 13–10 in their first year in the MAC, and followed that up with a 10–10 mark in the 1947–1948 season. The 1948–1949 season was Trautwein's last, with the team compiling a 6–16 record. 1949–1974: Jim Snyder Ohio alumnus Jim Snyder took over for Trautwein in 1949. Ohio's winningest coach, dubbed "Gentleman Jim", guided the Bobcats for a quarter century. With star players like Jim Betts, Bunk Adams, Jerry Jackson, Don Hilt, Gerald McKee and Sports Illustrated cover boy Walter Luckett, Snyder won a total of seven MAC titles. His teams made seven NCAA appearances and finished with a winning record 21 times in 25 years. Snyder's first season was rather lackluster, with the 'Cats posting a 6–14 record. He followed that up with a slight improvement in the 1950–1951 season and a 13–11 mark. The 1954–1955 season was a breakout year for Ohio, and the team earned a 16–5 record and key wins over Morehead State and Miami University. In 1960, Ohio won its first championship under Snyder, with the team taking the MAC by way of a 10–2 league record (17–8 overall). That squad defeated the likes of the Toledo Rockets, Bowling Green Falcons, and Miami Redskins en route to a 74–66 win over in the first round of the NCAA tournament. The 1959–1960 championship team was quickly followed up by another title in the very next year. The 1960–1961 team celebrated its move into the brand new Grover Center with a stunning 10–2 league record (17–7 overall), including a first-place finish at the Canton Intercollegiate Tournament. A few years later, the 1963–1964 team made its mark as perhaps the best in Ohio history. That team won the MAC