Carnevale was the head basketball coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill from 1944 to 1946. While coaching at UNC, he led the team to their first appearance in the title game. The Tar Heels lost the game to Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State), who won their second national crown under legendary coach Henry Iba.
Carnevale then moved to Navy between 1946 and 1966, compiling a 257–160 record despite the Naval Academy height restrictions, at that time 6'5" (1.96 m). Carnevale was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1970.[3]
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
Conference regular season champion
Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
Division regular season champion
Division regular season and conference tournament champion
Conference tournament champion
^Frezza Jr., Harry. "Raritan man attends Final Four for 57th time", Courier News, April 1, 2001. Accessed August 2, 2007. "Ben Carnevale, who turns 86 on October 30, has had the kind of life some people might call legendary. In fact, when you look at his life, which began in a house just off the last trolley stop on Gaston Avenue in Raritan Borough, you might agree. The 1934 Somerville High School graduate is a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. He is also the winningest coach in United States Naval Academy history, a survivor of a ship that was torpedoed during World War II, and somebody who had a lot to do with building the NCAA basketball tournament."