BUTCH VARNEY (JACKSON COUNTY)As a coach, Butch Varney produced some amazing things on two different courts – basketball and tennis – at Ravenswood High School, his beloved alma mater.
Devilette basketball was recognized as one of the top programs in the state with Varney, a 1970 graduate of Ravenswood, at the helm.
In his 22 years of guiding the red and black, Varney’s teams registered 330 victories. No win stands out more than in December of 1982 when his Devilettes brought home the Class AA state championship trophy, defeating old Dunbar High School, 65-32, at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum. (WV girls basketball was played in the fall for many years before switching to the winter months).
The title culminated several years of hard work by Varney to reach the pinnacle of success.
During Varney’s time leading the way, Ravenswood made it to the State Tournament seven times. Four of his Devilette squads made it to the semifinals of Class AA. Ravenswood captured 14 sectional titles during his tenure.
Three of Varney’s teams won championships in the competitive Little Kanawha Conference. He was honored by the league several times as the Coach of the Year. Individually, Varney coached eight First Team All-Staters. In 1988, he was named as the National High School Athletic Association Representative for West Virginia Girls Basketball.
On December 22, 2022 – 40 years after winning that illustrious state title – the court inside the home for Ravenswood girls basketball (now known as the Devilette Athletic Center) was named in his honor.
Varney also spent four years as an assistant girls coach at Ripley and was instrumental in the Lady Vikings reaching the Final Four in Class AAA one season. They lost to eventual champion South Charleston, which featured two future WNBA players.
Besides basketball, Varney coached tennis at Ravenswood High School with his teams winning 448 matches. Several players won championships or finished as a runner-up. His 2013 girls team finished as the Class AA/A runner-up.
Varney is thrilled to join his daughter, Mary Beth Hunt, a 2006 inductee, as a Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame inductee.
Butch Varney Video
Butch Varney receives his plaque.
Mid-Ohio Valley Sports Hall of Fame 