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Gene Bartow

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Gene Bartow
Bartow in 1975
Biographical details
Born(1930-08-18)August 18, 1930[1]
Browning, Missouri,U.S.
DiedJanuary 3, 2012(2012-01-03)(aged 81)
Birmingham, Alabama,U.S.
Coaching career (HCunless noted)
1961–1964Central Missouri State
1964–1970Valparaiso
1970–1974Memphis State
1974–1975Illinois
1975–1977UCLA
1978–1996UAB
Administrative career (ADunless noted)
1977–2000UAB
Head coaching record
Overall
  • 647–353 (college)
  • 145–39 (high school)
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'scollege basketballcoach. TheBrowning, Missouri,native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. In 1972 Bartow coached thePuerto Rico national basketball teamin the1972 Munich Olympic Games.

High school

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Bartow began his coaching at the prep level in Missouri, coachingShelbinaandSt. CharlesHigh School basketball squads to a 145–39 win–loss mark in six seasons. His1957 St. Charlesteam won the state championship, defeating North Kansas City in the Class L finals by a score of 60–54.

College

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Bartow coached atCentral Missouri State Universityfrom 1961 to 1964,Valparaiso Universityfrom 1964 to 1970, andMemphis State Universityfrom 1970 until 1974, and he led the Memphis State Tigers to the 1973NCAA national championship gameand consecutiveMissouri Valley Conferencetitles in the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons. He coached theUS national teamin the1974 FIBA World Championship,winning the bronze medal.[2]

Bartow signed a five-yearcontractto replaceHarv Schmidtat theUniversity of Illinoisin 1974 but stayed only one year. TheFighting Illinifinished tied for last in theBig Tenat 4–14 (8–18 overall) in 1975, Bartow's only season there before he broke his contract and left for UCLA.[3]He was succeeded byLou Henson.[3]

UCLA

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Bartow left the Midwest forLos Angelesto succeed coaching legendJohn Woodenas the head coach atUCLA.He led the Bruins from1975to1977,guiding them toPac-8titles and a 52–9 (.852) record, including a berth in theFinal Fourin1976,falling toIndiana,the undefeated eventual champion.[4]In 1977, his second-ranked UCLA lost to unrankedIdaho Stateby a point in theSweet SixteenatProvo, Utah.[5][6][7][8]As of 2023, his two seasons had the second-highest winning percentage at UCLA, behindGary Cunningham(.862).

UAB

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After just two years at UCLA, Bartow left in 1977 to take over the job of creating an athletic program at theUniversity of Alabama at Birmingham(UAB). He served as the Blazers' first headbasketballcoach and athletic director for 18 years. Bartow led UAB to theNITin1980,the program's second year of existence, and followed that up with seven straightNCAA tournamentappearances, including advancements to the Sweet Sixteen in1981and theElite Eightin1982.

Bartow retired from coaching in 1996, and in 1997, UAB renamed its basketball venueBartow Arenain his honor. His sonMurry,a UAB assistant, became the coach upon Bartow's retirement; Bartow was later president of Hoops, LP, the company that runs theMemphis Grizzliesand theFedEx Forum.[9]

Honors

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In 1989, Bartow was inducted into theAlabama Sports Hall of Fame,10 years later, in 1999,Central Missouri State(now the University of Central Missouri) also elected him to theirs.[10]Bartow was also voted one ofValparaiso University's 150 most influential people in October 2009.[11]Bartow was inducted into theNational Collegiate Basketball Hall of Famein Kansas City on November 22, 2009, along with fellow inducteesMagic Johnson,Larry Bird,Wayman Tisdale,Jud Heathcote,Walter Byers,Travis Grantand Bill Wall. In 2013, Bartow was selected for induction into theMid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association(MIAA) Hall of Fame.[12]

Death

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On April 15, 2009, a UAB spokesman revealed that Bartow had been diagnosed withstomach cancer;he died at his home in Birmingham in early 2012 from the disease.

Head coaching record

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College

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Central Missouri State Mules(Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association)(1961–1964)
1961–62 Central Missouri State 16–6
1962–63 Central Missouri State 17–6
1963–64 Central Missouri State 14–9
Central Missouri State: 47–21
Valparaiso Crusaders(Indiana Collegiate Conference)(1964–1970)
1964–65 Valparaiso 13–12 5–7 3rd
1965–66 Valparaiso 18–10 7–5 4th NCAA College Division Second Round
1966–67 Valparaiso 21–8 7–5 2nd
1967–68 Valparaiso 11–15 3–9 6th
1968–69 Valparaiso 16–12 4–4 T–2nd NCAA College Division Second Round
1969–70 Valparaiso 13–13 2–6 5th
Valparaiso: 92–70 28–36
Memphis State Tigers(Missouri Valley Conference)(1970–1974)
1970–71 Memphis State 18–8 8–6 4th
1971–72 Memphis State 21–7 12–2 T–1st NIT First Round
1972–73 Memphis State 24–6 12–2 1st NCAA University Division Runner-up
1973–74 Memphis State 19–11
Memphis State: 82–32 32–10
Illinois Fighting Illini(Big Ten Conference)(1974–1975)
1974–75 Illinois 8–18 4–14 T–9th
Illinois: 8–18 4–14
UCLA Bruins(Pacific-8 Conference)(1975–1977)
1975–76 UCLA 28–4† 13–1 1st NCAA Division I Third Place
1976–77 UCLA 24–5 11–3 1st NCAA Division I Sweet 16
UCLA: 52–9 24–4
UAB Blazers(NCAA Division I independent)(1978–1979)
1978–79 UAB 15–11
UAB Blazers(Sun Belt Conference)(1979–1991)
1979–80 UAB 18–12 10–4 T–2nd NIT First Round
1980–81 UAB 23–9 9–3 T–1st NCAA Division I Sweet 16
1981–82 UAB 25–6 9–1 1st NCAA Division I Elite Eight
1982–83 UAB 19–14 9–5 3rd NCAA Division I First Round
1983–84 UAB 23–11 8–6 5th NCAA Division I First Round
1984–85 UAB 25–9 11–3 2nd NCAA Division I Second Round
1985–86 UAB 25–11 9–5 T–3rd NCAA Division I Second Round
1986–87 UAB 21–11 10–4 3rd NCAA Division I First Round
1987–88 UAB 16–15 7–7 5th
1988–89 UAB 22–12 8–6 4th NIT Final Four
1989–90 UAB 22–9 12–2 1st NCAA Division I First Round
1990–91 UAB 18–13 9–5 2nd NIT First Round
UAB Blazers(Great Midwest Conference)(1991–1995)
1991–92 UAB 20–9 4–6 5th NIT First Round
1992–93 UAB 21–14 5–5 4th NIT Final Four
1993–94 UAB 22–8 8–4 T–2nd NCAA Division I First Round
1994–95 UAB 14–16 5–7 6th
UAB Blazers(Conference USA)(1995–1996)
1995–96 UAB 16–14 6–8 2nd(Red)
UAB: 365–204 139–81
Total: 647–353

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

See also

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References

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  1. ^Litsky, Frank (5 January 2012)."Gene Bartow, Successor to John Wooden at U.C.L.A., Dies at 81".The New York Times.
  2. ^1974 USA BasketballArchivedAugust 24, 2007, at theWayback Machine
  3. ^ab"2011–12 Illinois Basketball Record Book"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2011-12-16.Retrieved2012-01-06.
  4. ^McDermott, Barry (April 5, 1976)."Indiana makes its point".Sports Illustrated.p. 18.
  5. ^McDermott, Barry (March 28, 1977)."Off and running toward Atlanta".Sports Illustrated.p. 16.
  6. ^Benson, Lee (March 18, 1977)."Utes fall short, Idaho State stuns UCLA".Deseret News.(Salt Lake City, Utah). p. 6B.
  7. ^"ISU has greatest win".Spokane Daily Chronicle.(Washington). Associated Press. March 18, 1977. p. 21.
  8. ^"UCLA becomes the obscure one".Eugene Register-Guard.(Oregon). wire services. March 18, 1977. p. 1B.
  9. ^"Former UCLA coach Bartow named president of Grizzlies".Archived fromthe originalon 2011-05-22.Retrieved2014-05-18.
  10. ^"Home Events March 4-10 - Official Athletics Website".University of Central Missouri Athletics.Retrieved2024-03-10.
  11. ^"Valpo Athletics".valpoathletics.Retrieved2024-03-10.
  12. ^"MIAA ANNOUNCES 2013 HALL OF FAME CLASS".themiaa.2024-03-04.Retrieved2024-03-10.
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