Mark Frederick Gottfried (born January 20, 1964)
is an American men's college
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
coach
Coach may refer to:
Guidance/instruction
* Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities
* Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process
** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers
Transportation
* Coac ...
and former player who most recently served as head coach of the
Cal State Northridge Matadors
The Cal State Northridge Matadors (branded as the CSUN Matadors) are the athletic teams that represent California State University, Northridge in Northridge, Los Angeles, California. The Matadors field 17 teams in nineteen sports. The Matadors c ...
Gottfried played one season at
Oral Roberts
Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christian televangelist, ordained in both the Pentecostal Holiness and United Methodist churches. He is considered one of the forerunners of t ...
and three seasons at
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 = 135,7 ...
, advancing to the
Sweet Sixteen in each of his seasons with the
Crimson Tide. He spent eight seasons as an assistant coach at
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, including the team's
1995 NCAA championship season, three years as head coach at
Murray State
Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, H ...
, eleven years as head coach at
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 = 135,7 ...
, and six seasons at
North Carolina State.
Early years
Gottfried was born in
Crestline, Ohio
Crestline is a village in Crawford and Richland Counties in the U.S. state of Ohio. Crestline's population was 4,630 at the 2010 census. It is the third largest municipality in Crawford County. The Crawford County portion of Crestline is part ...
. He played varsity basketball at
Carterville High School
Carterville High School is a public high school in Carterville, Illinois, United States.
History
It has an enrollment of approximately 609 students. The school is a member of Illinois High School Association as a Class 4A member of the Rive ...
in
Carterville, Illinois
Carterville is a city in Williamson County, Illinois, United States. At the 2020 census, the city's population was 5,848. The city is part of the Carbondale-Marion combined statistical area and has grown considerably as a residential community o ...
, and Carbondale High School in
Carbondale, Illinois
Carbondale is a city in Jackson and Williamson Counties, Illinois, United States, within the Southern Illinois region informally known as "Little Egypt". The city developed from 1853 because of the stimulation of railroad construction into the ...
. He then played for UMS Prep (now known as
UMS-Wright Preparatory School
UMS-Wright is an independent co-educational preparatory school in Mobile, Alabama. The school was founded in 1893 as University Military School, and in 1988 it combined with Julius T Wright School for Girls (founded 1956) to form UMS-Wright Pre ...
) in
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile ( , ) is a city and the county seat of Mobile County, Alabama, United States. The population within the city limits was 187,041 at the 2020 census, down from 195,111 at the 2010 census. It is the fourth-most-populous city in Alabama ...
, during his senior year, averaging 21.6 ppg/11.2 rpg before graduating in 1982. As a student, he was selected to the
National Honor Society
The National Honor Society (NHS) is a nationwide organization for high school students in the United States and outlying territories, which consists of many chapters in high schools. Selection is based on four criteria: scholarship (academic achi ...
. Gottfried was inducted into UMS-Wright's Hall of Fame and in 2004, was the UMS Alumnus of the Year.
College career
Gottfried attended
Oral Roberts
Granville Oral Roberts (January 24, 1918 – December 15, 2009) was an American Charismatic Christian televangelist, ordained in both the Pentecostal Holiness and United Methodist churches. He is considered one of the forerunners of t ...
on a basketball scholarship. After playing there for one season, where he was a
Freshman All-American
Underclass All-American is an honorific for high school and college athletes for excellence in competition. The athletes recognized with this title are considered the best players of a specific season in their sport that are members of a given cla ...
, he transferred to Alabama. There, he started 98 consecutive games, and Alabama advanced to the Sweet Sixteen in all three seasons he played. He holds the school records for most 3-point shots made in a single game with eight in a 1987 game against
Vanderbilt, and for career 3-point field goal percentage (.485, 81–167).
Gottfried graduated with a Bachelor of Arts & Sciences in
Communication
Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
s from the University of Alabama in 1987, after winning both the school's Hayden Riley Top Scholar Award and the Bryant Award as the school's top scholar-athlete during his senior year. He was selected by the
Detroit Pistons
The Detroit Pistons are an American professional basketball team based in Detroit. The Pistons compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference Central Division and play their home games at L ...
in the seventh round of the
1987 NBA draft
The 1987 NBA draft was held on June 22, 1987, in New York City.
This draft included two future members of the NBA 50 Greatest Players list, David Robinson and Scottie Pippen, as well as fellow Hall of Famer Reggie Miller, who was named to t ...
, though he never played professionally. Instead, he spent three years touring with Athletes in Action, then attended
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
graduate school for two years.
Coaching career
UCLA
Gottfried served as an assistant coach for eight seasons (1988–95) at UCLA under
Jim Harrick. Other members of the staff were former
St. John's and UCLA head coach
Steve Lavin
Stephen Michael Lavin (born September 4, 1964) is an American men's college basketball coach and broadcaster who is the head coach of the San Diego Toreros of the West Coast Conference (WCC). He previously served as head coach of the St. John' ...
and former
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
head coach
Lorenzo Romar
Lorenzo Romar (born November 13, 1958) is an American basketball coach and former player. He is the head men's basketball coach at Pepperdine University, a position he held from 1996 to 1999 and resumed in 2018. Romar also served as the head me ...
. The Bruins were the
1995 NCAA champions with Gottfried as an assistant coach and recruiter. The Bruins were ranked 1st nationally for their recruiting class in 1994 and produced future
NBA players
Ed O'Bannon
Edward Charles O'Bannon Jr. (born August 14, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was a power forward for the UCLA Bruins on their 1995 NCAA championship team. He was selecte ...
,
George Zidek
Jiří "George" Zídek Jr. (born 2 August 1973), is a Czech retired professional basketball player and sports commentator. He played college basketball in the United States for the UCLA Bruins from 1991 to 1995. He then became the first Czech pla ...
,
Tyus Edney
Tyus Dwayne Edney Sr. (born February 14, 1973) is an American basketball coach and former player who is an assistant coach for the San Diego Toreros men's team of the West Coast Conference (WCC). Listed at , he played point guard. He played coll ...
,
Don MacLean
Don Maclean (born 1942/1943) MBE KSS is an English actor and comedian, who appeared on the BBC television series '' Crackerjack'' with Michael Aspel, Peter Glaze and Jan Hunt in the 1970s.
Born in Birmingham, he attended Clifton Road S ...
,
Tracy Murray
Tracy, Tracey, or Tracie may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tracy (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname, also encompassing spelling variations
Places United States
* Tracy, C ...
,
Trevor Wilson,
Darrick Martin
Darrick David Martin (born March 6, 1971) is an American basketball coach, most recently head coach for the Reno Bighorns of the NBA G League. He played basketball for more than a decade, shuttling between the Continental Basketball Association ( ...
and
Mitchell Butler
Mitchell Leon Butler (born December 15, 1970) is an American sports agent and former professional basketball player. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2004.
The 6' 5" (1.96 m) shooting guard signed undrafted wi ...
.
Gottfried faced his former school twice as head coach at Alabama, losing 79–57 in the 2001
John Wooden
John Robert Wooden (October 14, 1910 – June 4, 2010) was an American basketball coach and player. Nicknamed the Wizard of Westwood, he won ten National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) national championships in a 12-year period as hea ...
Classic and losing 62–59 in the second round of the
2006 NCAA tournament.
Murray State
Gottfried was head coach from 1995 to 1998 at Murray State University and compiled a 68–24 overall record. Murray State advanced to the
NCAA tournament in 1997 and again in
1998
1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''.
Events January
* January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...
and made the
NIT in his first season there in 1996. He coached the Racers to
Ohio Valley Conference
The Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) is a collegiate athletic conference which operates in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. It participates in Division I of the NCAA; the conference's football programs compete in the Football Cham ...
championships in each of his seasons as head coach, becoming the first head coach to win three OVC titles in only three seasons.
In his last season, the Racers finished 25th in the final
AP Poll
The Associated Press poll (AP poll) provides weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling 62 sportswriters and br ...
.
Alabama
Gottfried was hired by the University of Alabama on March 25, 1998.
He led the Tide to the
SEC regular season championship in the 2001–02 season, their first regular-season title in 15 years. The following year, his team became the first in Crimson Tide history to be ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. The team held the ranking for two weeks before losing 51–49 to
Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to its ...
shortly before conference play. During the end of the following season, his team upset top-ranked and top-seeded
Stanford
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...
in the second round of the
NCAA tournament. The squad then defeated reigning national champion
Syracuse
Syracuse may refer to:
Places Italy
* Syracuse, Sicily, or spelled as ''Siracusa''
* Province of Syracuse
United States
*Syracuse, New York
**East Syracuse, New York
** North Syracuse, New York
* Syracuse, Indiana
*Syracuse, Kansas
*Syracuse, M ...
to advance to the
Elite Eight
In the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship or the NCAA Women's Division I Basketball Championship, the "Elite Eight" comprises the final eight teams, representing the regional finals, or national quarterfinals. In Division I and Divis ...
, achieving another program first. The Tide ultimately lost to eventual national champion
UConn
The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university in Storrs, Connecticut, a village in the town of Mansfield. The primary 4,400-acre (17.8 km2) campus is in Storrs, approximately a half hour's drive from ...
. For his efforts, Gottfried was named
SEC coach of the year by the
AP and his fellow coaches. The next season, Alabama entered the NCAA tournament as a fifth seed before suffering a first-round loss to
UW–Milwaukee.
After that, his tenure at Alabama was marked by key player injuries and disappointment. Alabama posted back-to-back losing seasons in the SEC in 2006–07 and 2007–08. The 2007–08 season marked the first time in nine years (only the second time under Gottfried) that Alabama did not reach either the NIT or NCAA post-season tournament, although the Tide did receive an invitation to the first annual
College Basketball Invitational
The College Basketball Invitational (CBI) is a men's college basketball tournament created in 2007 by The Gazelle Group. The inaugural tournament occurred after the conclusion of the 2007–08 men's college basketball regular season. The CBI s ...
, which it did not accept. On January 26, 2009, after the controversial departure of player
Ronald Steele
Ronald Lee Steele Jr. (born April 22, 1986) is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the University of Alabama.
High school
Ronald Steele was born in Birmingham, Alabama. He attended John Carrol ...
and an underperforming season at that point, Gottfried met with Alabama Athletics Director
Mal Moore and resigned mid-season.
North Carolina State
On April 5, 2011, Gottfried accepted the job as head coach of the
NC State Wolfpack men's basketball
The NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. N.C. State is one of the seven founding members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Prior to joining the ACC i ...
team. To celebrate the upcoming basketball season, Gottfried planned to perform a tandem skydive into
Carter Finley Stadium during halftime of a football game. The jump, scheduled for September 17, 2011, was canceled due to weather concerns.
On March 11, 2012, the
NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team
The NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. N.C. State is one of the seven founding members of the Atlantic Coast Conference.
Prior to joining the ACC i ...
received an 11th seed in the
NCAA tournament. Because his team was selected into the tournament, Gottfried received a two-year extension on his contract through April 4, 2018. On March 18, 2012, Gottfried's 11th-seeded Wolfpack team defeated the 3rd-seeded
Georgetown Hoyas
The Georgetown Hoyas are the collegiate athletics teams that officially represent Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C. Georgetown's athletics department fields 23 men's and women's varsity level teams and competes at the National ...
in the 3rd round of the NCAA Tournament, earning a
Sweet 16 berth. Five days later, the Wolfpack lost to 2nd-seeded
Kansas Jayhawks
The Kansas Jayhawks, commonly referred to as simply KU or Kansas, are the athletic teams that represent the University of Kansas. KU is one of three schools in the state of Kansas that participate in NCAA Division I. The Jayhawks are also a mem ...
in the Sweet 16.
On January 12, 2013, Gottfried became just the 14th coach in history to beat the #1 ranked team in the country with two separate schools after beating Duke 84–76 (having previously done so at Alabama).
During the 2014–2015 season,
NC State picked up wins against two Top 10 conference opponents (Jan 11 vs Duke and Feb 14 vs Louisville). Both Top 10 victories came immediately after losses to the
ACC leading
Virginia Cavaliers
The Virginia Cavaliers, also known as ''Wahoos'' or ''Hoos'', are the athletic teams representing the University of Virginia, located in Charlottesville. The Cavaliers compete at the NCAA Division I level ( FBS for football), in the Atlantic C ...
. The road victory against the
Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East C ...
was only the third time since the turn of the century that the Wolfpack had picked up a road win vs. an AP Top 10 squad, snapping a 22-game drought in such games.
NC State would qualify for the NCAA Tournament as an 8 seed eliminating the top seeded
Villanova Wildcats
The Villanova Wildcats are the athletic teams of Villanova University. They compete in the Big East ( NCAA Division I) for every sport; except football and rowing where they compete in the Colonial Athletic Association ( Football Championship ...
before falling to number 4 seed
Louisville Cardinals
The Louisville Cardinals (also known as the Cards) are the NCAA athletic teams representing the University of Louisville. The Cardinals teams play in the Atlantic Coast Conference, beginning in the 2014 season. While playing in the Big East C ...
in the Sweet 16 Gottfried's second in 4 years with the Wolfpack. However it would be Gottfried's last winning season in Raleigh.
On January 23, 2017, Gottfried earned his 400th career win as a head coach by defeating #17 Duke in an 84–82 thriller at
Cameron Indoor Stadium
Cameron Indoor Stadium is an indoor arena located on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. The 9,314-seat facility is the primary indoor athletic venue for the Duke Blue Devils and serves as the home court for Duke men's and ...
. It was the first time since January 1995 that NC State had won at Duke.
After two losing consecutive seasons, including going 9–27 in the ACC during those seasons and several transfers out, Gottfried was on the hot seat.
On February 16, 2017, after a meeting between Gottfried and athletic director
, NC State announced that Gottfried would not return as head coach for the following season.
In July 2019, the NCAA charged NC State with a series of violations regarding the recruitment of former star
Dennis Smith Jr.
Dennis Cliff Smith Jr. (born November 25, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended North Carolina State University for one season of college basketba ...
They included two Level I violations against Gottfried, including failure to control the program and failure to monitor assistant Orlando Early, who was accused of facilitating payments to Smith.
In December 2021, the NCAA placed NC State on one year of probation for the violations and ordered the Wolfpack to vacate all of its wins in 2016–17. It also slapped Gottfried with a one-year
show-cause penalty, effective until December 19, 2022. If Gottfried works at another NCAA member school during this period, that school must show why Gottfried must not be sanctioned. Early was hit with a six-year show-cause penalty.
Dallas Mavericks
Gottfried joined the
Dallas Mavericks
The Dallas Mavericks (often referred to as the Mavs) are an American professional basketball team based in Dallas. The Mavericks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Southwest Division. Th ...
as an assistant coach for their
2017 NBA Summer League
The 2017 NBA Summer League consisted of three pro basketball leagues organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA): the Orlando Pro Summer League, Utah Jazz Summer League, and Las Vegas Summer League.
Eight teams participated in the wee ...
team. The Mavericks had drafted
Dennis Smith, Jr., who played for Gottfried at NC State for one season, in the
2017 NBA draft
The 2017 NBA draft was held on June 22, 2017, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting U.S. college basketball players and other eligible players, including international players.
...
.
Cal State Northridge
Gottfried was hired as head coach of Cal State Northridge on March 12, 2018. The infractions case at NC State was announced shortly after the end of Gottfried's first season, leading
Yahoo! Sports
Yahoo! Sports is a sports news website launched by Yahoo! on December 8, 1997. It receives a majority of its information from STATS, Inc. It employs numerous writers, and has team pages for teams in almost every North American major sport. B ...
'
Pat Forde
Pat Forde is a sports journalist who is a national columnist for ''Sports Illustrated''. He previously worked for ESPN, ''The Courier-Journal'' in Louisville, Kentucky, and ''Yahoo Sports''.
Personal life and education
Forde is a native of C ...
to recall that CSU Northridge's decision to hire him had been much criticized.
[In April 2021, CSU Northridge placed Gottfried and his staff on leave amid an internal investigation into potential rules violations in the basketball program. He never returned; he and CSU Northridge mutually agreed to part ways in December 2021, shortly after he was handed a show-cause penalty for the violations at NC State. Had Gottfried returned, CSU Northridge would have had to convince the NCAA that Gottfried should not be sanctioned, and could have been severely punished had he committed additional violations while his show-cause order was in effect.][ Schlabach, Mark]
NCAA sends message to Ohio State
ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
, December 20, 2011. Trent Johnson
Trent Aubrey Johnson (born September 12, 1956) is an American college basketball coach who is currently head coach at Cal State Northridge. Johnson had previously been the head coach at Texas Christian University, Louisiana State University, Stanf ...
was named interim coach for the 2021–22 season, and won the job on a permanent basis after the season.
Family
Gottfried is divorced and the father of four sons and one daughter. His oldest son, Brandon, was a standout athlete at Gulf Shores High School (Gulf Shores, Alabama
Gulf Shores is a resort city in Baldwin County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 9,741.
Geography
Gulf Shores is located on the Gulf of Mexico at 30°16'4.069" North, 87°42'5.285" West (30.267797, −87.7 ...
) in both football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly ...
and basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
and graduated from Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is conside ...
, where he played football as a tight end. His daughter, Mary Layson, is an accomplished international fashion model. His father, Joe Gottfried, is a former NCAA Southern Illinois Univ-Carbondale basketball coach and retired as Director of Athletics 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 ...
in 2009. His uncle, Mike Gottfried
Mike Gottfried (born December 17, 1944) is a sportscaster and former American football player and coach.
He served as the head football coach at Murray State University (1978–1980), the University of Cincinnati (1981–1982), the University of ...
, was a college football head coach (Murray State, Cincinnati, Kansas and Pittsburgh) and an analyst on ESPN
ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football in the United States, American football rules first gained populari ...
broadcasts.
Head coaching record
[ ]
References
External links
Cal State Northridge profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gottfried, Mark
1964 births
Living people
Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball coaches
Alabama Crimson Tide men's basketball players
American men's basketball coaches
Basketball coaches from Ohio
Basketball players from Ohio
Cal State Northridge Matadors men's basketball coaches
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Detroit Pistons draft picks
Murray State Racers men's basketball coaches
NC State Wolfpack men's basketball coaches
Oral Roberts Golden Eagles men's basketball players
People from Crestline, Ohio
Shooting guards
UCLA Bruins men's basketball coaches
American men's basketball players