Bob Weltlich (born November 5, 1944) is an American former
college basketball
In United States colleges, top-tier basketball is governed by collegiate athletic bodies including National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), the United States Collegiate Athleti ...
coach and author. Weltlich coached 22 seasons with a career record of 300–335. He was head coach at the
University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...
,
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...
(FIU),
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
and
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...
(Ole Miss).
Weltlich is one of only 19 coaches to lead three different programs to the
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament.
Coaching career
Indiana
Weltlich got his degree in
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
from
Ohio State University
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...
in 1967 and was set to teach. He met
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
coach and fellow OSU alum
Bob Knight in
Orrville, Ohio. Knight hired him as an assistant at Army, then took him to
Indiana University
Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana.
Campuses
Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI.
*Indiana Universi ...
, where in 1976 he helped coach a 32–0 team to the
NCAA
The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...
title.
Ole Miss
Weltlich left Indiana to become the head coach at the
University of Mississippi
The University of Mississippi ( byname Ole Miss) is a public research university that is located adjacent to Oxford, Mississippi, and has a medical center in Jackson. It is Mississippi's oldest public university and its largest by enrollment ...
.
Weltlich manned the Rebel sidelines for six years (1977–1982) and directed ''Ole Miss'' to an
SEC Tournament title and the program’s postseason debut in 1981.
One episode of his aggressive coaching style, foreshadowing criticism levied against him later in his career, followed the team splitting two games in Illinois in 1979; after an all-night marathon bus/plane/bus trip that arrived back on campus on Christmas Day, Weltlich had the team dress for a tape session and practice. (This is described from player
Sean Tuohy's point of view in both
Michael Lewis' 2006 book
''The Blind Side'', pp. 55–56; and Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy's own 2010 book "In a Heartbeat, Sharing The Power of Cheerful Giving", p. 48,) Upon setting up the projector to watch film (at 10 am on Christmas Day), Weltlich leaned into Tuohy's ear and said, "Hey Twelve, Merry Fucking Christmas."
Texas
In 1982, second-year Texas
athletic director
An athletic director (commonly "athletics director" or "AD") is an administrator at many American clubs or institutions, such as colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, who oversees the work of coaches an ...
DeLoss Dodds
DeLoss Dodds (born August 8, 1939) was the sixth men's athletic director of The University of Texas at Austin.
During his tenure as AD from the fall of 1981 to November 2013, Texas won 19 National Championships and 287 conference titles. Dodds an ...
hired Weltlich from Ole Miss to serve as the next
Texas Longhorns men's basketball
The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I College basketball, intercollegiate men's basketball. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference.
The University of Texas be ...
head coach. Nicknamed "Kaiser Bob" by Longhorn fans for his harshly disciplinarian approach, Weltlich was almost immediately faced with such a manpower shortage from the departures — both voluntary and involuntary — of so many Texas players that he famously had to press Texas male cheerleader Lance Watson into service during the Longhorns' abysmal 6–22 season of 1982–83.
Weltlich coached the
US national team in the
1982 FIBA World Championship, winning the silver medal.
Weltlich's next three teams posted yearly improvements in overall records, with the 1985–86 team — which finished with a 19–12 mark and a share of the
Southwest Conference
The Southwest Conference (SWC) was an NCAA Division I college athletic conference in the United States that existed from 1914 to 1996. Composed primarily of schools from Texas, at various times the conference included schools from Oklahoma ...
Championship — representing the zenith of his tenure at Texas. After his teams finished 14–17 and 16–13 in the 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons, respectively, Weltlich was dismissed with two years remaining on his contract.
["Timeline: A history of Texas basketball,]
Austin American-Statesman
Weltlich compiled a 77–98 record during six seasons as the head coach at Texas. None of his six teams managed an appearance in the
NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament; only the 1985–86 team participated in postseason competition, losing 71–65 to
Ohio State
The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...
in the second round of the
National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
FIU
Weltlich served as head coach at
Florida International University
Florida International University (FIU) is a public research university with its main campus in Miami-Dade County. Founded in 1965, the school opened its doors to students in 1972. FIU has grown to become the third-largest university in Florid ...
(FIU) from 1990 to 1995.
Under Weltlich, the Panthers made their lone appearance in the NCAA Tournament in 1995, losing to
Jim Harrick
James Richard Harrick (born July 25, 1938) is a former American basketball coach. He has been the head coach at UCLA, Pepperdine University, the University of Rhode Island and the University of Georgia over a combined total of 23 seasons. During ...
's
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...
, 92–56, in the round of 64. Weltlich had already announced his resignation effective at the end of the season and notably said during the post-game interviews "If anyone knows of any openings out there, my number is...".
South Alabama
Weltlich was named the interim coach at the
University of South Alabama
The University of South Alabama (USA) is a public research university in Mobile, Alabama. It was created by the Alabama Legislature in May, 1963, and replaced existing extension programs operated in Mobile by the University of Alabama. The first ...
on October 27, 1997 following
Bill Musselman
William Clifford Musselman (August 13, 1940 – May 5, 2000) was an American basketball coach in the NCAA, the ABA, the WBA, the CBA, and the NBA. He was known for his trademark intensity, once being quoted as saying, "Defeat is worse than deat ...
's sudden resignation on October 7, 1997.
Weltlich coached the Jags from 1997 to 2002 and compiled a record of 81-65 and three 20-win seasons.
He resigned from South Alabama after the 2002 season, but he and his family remained in
Fairhope, Alabama
Fairhope is a city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States, located on the eastern shoreline of Mobile Bay. The 2020 Census lists the population of the city as 22,477. Fairhope is a principal city of the Daphne-Fairhope-Foley metropolita ...
, where he has worked as a
middle school
A middle school (also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school) is an educational stage which exists in some countries, providing education between primary school and secondary school. ...
teacher to complete the 10 years of service he needed to qualify for retirement from the state of
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
.
Head coaching record
Novel
In 2004, Weltlich's novel, ''
Crooked Zebra'', was released. It tells the story of a college basketball referee who begins to affect outcomes of games based on his gambling habits.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weltlich, Bob
1944 births
Living people
21st-century American novelists
21st-century American male writers
American crime fiction writers
American male novelists
Basketball coaches from Alabama
FIU Panthers men's basketball coaches
Indiana Hoosiers men's basketball coaches
Novelists from Alabama
Ohio State University College of Education and Human Ecology alumni
Ole Miss Rebels men's basketball coaches
People from Fairhope, Alabama
South Alabama Jaguars men's basketball coaches
Texas Longhorns men's basketball coaches
United States men's national basketball team coaches