Dennis Westley came to F&M from Reading, Pa., after adistinguished high school basketball career. The 6'5'' forwardgained substantial playing time on the 1978 team that finished witha 16-10 record and a second place finish in the MAC South. Westleyscored 184 points and grabbed 97 rebounds during his initialseason. As a sophomore, Westley played a key role in helping thebasketball team to the MAC title on its way to the NCAA DivisionIII Final Four, hosted by Augustana College in Rock Island, Ill.The Diplomats fell short of the ultimate goal, a nationalchampionship, but did finish third with a key one-point victoryover Centre College (Ky.).
The team's record of 27-5 established a school record for thenumber of wins in one season. Westley averaged 13.6 points pergame, scoring 436 points and grabbing 192 rebounds. He was named tothe MAC All-Conference team. His junior year would be Westley'smost productive, as he averaged 15.2 points per game, scoring 379points, with 176 rebounds. While the team's 18-7 record did notqualify the Diplomats for post-season play, Westley was named tothe MAC and ECAC South All-Star team and second team All-Region bythe National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC). His senior yearwas beset by illness that prevented what might have been F&M'sbest team yet from a national title.
F&M won 16 straight games at the start of the season andeight in a row at the end as it regained the MAC title andqualified for the NCAA. However, Westley's illness, coupled with aninjury to Don Anderson '82, decreased the team's effectiveness asF&M lost to Ursinus, which went on to finish third in thecountry. The team's 26-3 record set a school record for winningpercentage that lasted until 1989. Westley averaged 12.9 points pergame, scoring 362 points, and hauled down a career-high 204rebounds. He completed an outstanding career with 1,361 points,which at the time ranked second on the all-time F&M men'scareer scoring list.
He also ranked second on the career rebound list with 669.Entering this season, he ranks fourth in both career scoring andrebounding. His senior years brought many honors, the most notableof which were: team MVP, first-team MAC and ECAC South All-Star,and second team NCAA Division III All-American, only the secondF&M player to be so honored at that time. Westley graduated in1981 with a degree in business administration. He currently is asenior vice president-finance and administration for Penn SquareManagement Corporation and lives in Reading with his wifeCindy.
