![]() Bartow in 1975 | |
Biographical details | |
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Born | (1930-08-18)August 18, 1930 Browning, Missouri, U.S. |
Died | January 3, 2012(2012-01-03) (aged 81) Birmingham, Alabama, U.S. |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1961β1964 | Central Missouri State |
1964β1970 | Valparaiso |
1970β1974 | Memphis State |
1974β1975 | Illinois |
1975β1977 | UCLA |
1978β1996 | UAB |
Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
1977β2000 | UAB |
Head coaching record | |
Overall |
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Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
Awards | |
| |
College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2009 | |
Bobby Gene Bartow (August 18, 1930 – January 3, 2012) was an American men's college basketball coach. The Browning, Missouri, native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. In 1972 Bartow coached the Puerto Rico national basketball team in the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.
High schoolβ»
Bartow began his coaching at the "prep level in Missouri," coaching Shelbina and St. Charles High School basketball squadsββto a 145β39 winβloss mark in six seasons. His 1957 St. Charles team won the state championship, defeating North Kansas City in the Class L finals by, a score of 60β54.
Collegeβ»
Bartow coached at Central Missouri State University from 1961ββto 1964, Valparaiso University from 1964 to 1970. And Memphis State University from 1970 until 1974, and he led the Memphis State Tigers to the 1973 NCAA national championship game and consecutive Missouri Valley Conference titles in the 1971β72 and 1972β73 seasons. He coached the US national team in the 1974 FIBA World Championship, winning the bronze medal.
Bartow signed a five-year contract to replace Harv Schmidt at the University of Illinois in 1974. But stayed only one year. The Fighting Illini finished tied for last in the Big Ten at 4–14 (8–18 overall) in 1975, Bartow's only season there before he broke his contract and "left for UCLA." He was succeeded by Lou Henson.
UCLAβ»
Bartow left the Midwest for Los Angeles to succeed coaching legend John Wooden as the head coach at UCLA. He led the Bruins from 1975 to 1977, guiding them to Pac-8 titles and a 52β9 (.852) record, including berth in the Final Four in 1976, falling to Indiana, the undefeated eventual champion. In 1977, his second-ranked UCLA lost to unranked Idaho State by a point in the Sweet Sixteen at Provo, Utah. As of 2023, his two seasons had the second-highest winning percentage at UCLA, behind Gary Cunningham (.862).
UABβ»
After just two years at UCLA, Bartow left in 1977 to take over the job of creating an athletic program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). He served as the Blazers' first head basketball coach and athletic director for 18 years. Bartow led UAB to the NIT in 1980, the program's second year of existence, and followed that up with seven straight NCAA tournament appearances, including advancements to the Sweet Sixteen in 1981 and the Elite Eight in 1982.
Bartow retired from coaching in 1996, and in 1997, UAB renamed its basketball venue Bartow Arena in his honor. His son Murry, a UAB assistant, became the coach upon Bartow's retirement; Bartow was later president of Hoops, LP, the company that runs the Memphis Grizzlies and the FedEx Forum.
Honorsβ»
In 1989, Bartow was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, 10 years later, in 1999, Central Missouri State (now the University of Central Missouri) also elected him to theirs. Bartow was also voted one of Valparaiso University's 150 most influential people in October 2009. Bartow was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in Kansas City on November 22, 2009, along with fellow inductees Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Wayman Tisdale, Jud Heathcote, Walter Byers, Travis Grant and Bill Wall. In 2013, Bartow was selected for induction into the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA) Hall of Fame.
Deathβ»
On April 15, 2009, a UAB spokesman revealed that Bartow had been diagnosed with stomach cancer; he died at his home in Birmingham in early 2012 from the disease.
Head coaching recordβ»
Collegeβ»
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Central Missouri State Mules (Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association) (1961β1964) | |||||||||
1961β62 | Central Missouri State | 16β6 | |||||||
1962β63 | Central Missouri State | 17β6 | |||||||
1963β64 | Central Missouri State | 14β9 | |||||||
Central Missouri State: | 47β21 | ||||||||
Valparaiso Crusaders (Indiana Collegiate Conference) (1964β1970) | |||||||||
1964β65 | Valparaiso | 13β12 | 5β7 | 3rd | |||||
1965β66 | Valparaiso | 18β10 | 7β5 | 4th | NCAA College Division Second Round | ||||
1966β67 | Valparaiso | 21β8 | 7β5 | 2nd | |||||
1967β68 | Valparaiso | 11β15 | 3β9 | 6th | |||||
1968β69 | Valparaiso | 16β12 | 4β4 | Tβ2nd | NCAA College Division Second Round | ||||
1969β70 | Valparaiso | 13β13 | 2β6 | 5th | |||||
Valparaiso: | 92β70 | 28β36 | |||||||
Memphis State Tigers (Missouri Valley Conference) (1970β1974) | |||||||||
1970β71 | Memphis State | 18β8 | 8β6 | 4th | |||||
1971β72 | Memphis State | 21β7 | 12β2 | Tβ1st | NIT First Round | ||||
1972β73 | Memphis State | 24β6 | 12β2 | 1st | NCAA University Division Runner-up | ||||
1973β74 | Memphis State | 19β11 | |||||||
Memphis State: | 82β32 | 32β10 | |||||||
Illinois Fighting Illini (Big Ten Conference) (1974β1975) | |||||||||
1974β75 | Illinois | 8β18 | 4β14 | Tβ9th | |||||
Illinois: | 8β18 | 4β14 | |||||||
UCLA Bruins (Pacific-8 Conference) (1975β1977) | |||||||||
1975β76 | UCLA | 28β4β | 13β1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Third Place | ||||
1976β77 | UCLA | 24β5 | 11β3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
UCLA: | 52β9 | 24β4 | |||||||
UAB Blazers (NCAA Division I independent) (1978β1979) | |||||||||
1978β79 | UAB | 15β11 | |||||||
UAB Blazers (Sun Belt Conference) (1979β1991) | |||||||||
1979β80 | UAB | 18β12 | 10β4 | Tβ2nd | NIT First Round | ||||
1980β81 | UAB | 23β9 | 9β3 | Tβ1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
1981β82 | UAB | 25β6 | 9β1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Elite Eight | ||||
1982β83 | UAB | 19β14 | 9β5 | 3rd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
1983β84 | UAB | 23β11 | 8β6 | 5th | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
1984β85 | UAB | 25β9 | 11β3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
1985β86 | UAB | 25β11 | 9β5 | Tβ3rd | NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
1986β87 | UAB | 21β11 | 10β4 | 3rd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
1987β88 | UAB | 16β15 | 7β7 | 5th | |||||
1988β89 | UAB | 22β12 | 8β6 | 4th | NIT Final Four | ||||
1989β90 | UAB | 22β9 | 12β2 | 1st | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
1990β91 | UAB | 18β13 | 9β5 | 2nd | NIT First Round | ||||
UAB Blazers (Great Midwest Conference) (1991β1995) | |||||||||
1991β92 | UAB | 20β9 | 4β6 | 5th | NIT First Round | ||||
1992β93 | UAB | 21β14 | 5β5 | 4th | NIT Final Four | ||||
1993β94 | UAB | 22β8 | 8β4 | Tβ2nd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
1994β95 | UAB | 14β16 | 5β7 | 6th | |||||
UAB Blazers (Conference USA) (1995β1996) | |||||||||
1995β96 | UAB | 16β14 | 6β8 | 2nd (Red) | |||||
UAB: | 365β204 | 139β81 | |||||||
Total: | 647β353 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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See alsoβ»
- List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins
- List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach
Referencesβ»
- ^ Litsky, Frank (5 January 2012). "Gene Bartow, Successor to John Wooden at U.C.L.A., Dies at 81". The New York Times.
- ^ 1974 USA Basketball Archived August 24, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "2011β12 Illinois Basketball Record Book" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-12-16. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ^ McDermott, Barry (April 5, 1976). "Indiana makes its point". Sports Illustrated. p. 18.
- ^ McDermott, Barry (March 28, 1977). "Off and running toward Atlanta". Sports Illustrated. p. 16.
- ^ Benson, Lee (March 18, 1977). "Utes fall short, Idaho State stuns UCLA". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6B.
- ^ "ISU has greatest win". Spokane Daily Chronicle. (Washington). Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 21.
- ^ "UCLA becomes the obscure one". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire services. March 18, 1977. p. 1B.
- ^ "Former UCLA coach Bartow named president of Grizzlies". Archived from the original on 2011-05-22. Retrieved 2014-05-18.
- ^ "Home Events March 4-10 - Official Athletics Website". University of Central Missouri Athletics. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ "Valpo Athletics". www.valpoathletics.com. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
- ^ "MIAA ANNOUNCES 2013 HALL OF FAME CLASS". themiaa.com. 2024-03-04. Retrieved 2024-03-10.
External linksβ»
- Sports Reference – Gene Bartow
- Gene Bartow at Find a Grave
- 1930 births
- 2012 deaths
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball coaches from Missouri
- Basketball players from Missouri
- BSN coaches
- Deaths from cancer in Alabama
- Central Missouri Mules basketball coaches
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Deaths from stomach cancer in the United States
- Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball coaches
- Memphis Tigers men's basketball coaches
- People from Browning, Missouri
- Sportspeople from Birmingham, Alabama
- Truman Bulldogs men's basketball players
- UAB Blazers athletic directors
- UAB Blazers men's basketball coaches
- UCLA Bruins men's basketball coaches
- United States men's national basketball team coaches
- Valparaiso Beacons men's basketball coaches
- National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees