Bobby Gene Bartow (August 18, 1930 January 3, 2012) was an American men's

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. The

Browning, Missouri Browning is a city in Linn and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Missouri. The population was 219 at the 2020 census. History Browning was laid out and platted in 1872. The community was named in honor of the family of J. A. Browning, a rai ...

, 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 The Puerto Rico national basketball team ( es, Selección de Baloncesto de Puerto Rico) represents Puerto Rico in men's international basketball competitions, it is governed by the Puerto Rican Basketball Federation ( es, link=no, Federación d ...

in the

1972 Munich Olympic Games The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and commonly known as Munich 1972 (german: München 1972), was an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. ...

High school

Bartow began his coaching at the prep level in Missouri, coaching Shelbina and St. Charles High School basketball squads to a 145–39 win–loss 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 60–54.

College

Bartow coached at

Central Missouri State University The University of Central Missouri (UCM) is a public university in Warrensburg, Missouri. In 2019, enrollment was 11,229 students from 49 states and 59 countries on its 1,561-acre campus. UCM offers 150 programs of study, including 10 pre-profes ...

from 1961 to 1964,

Valparaiso University Valparaiso University (Valpo) is a private university in Valparaiso, Indiana. It is a Lutheran university with about 3,000 students from over 50 countries on a campus of . Originally named Valparaiso Male and Female College, Valparaiso Universit ...

from 1964 to 1970, and

Memphis State University } The University of Memphis (UofM) is a public university, public research university in Memphis, Tennessee. Founded in 1912, the university has an enrollment of more than 22,000 students. The university maintains the Herff College of Engineering ...

from 1970 until 1974, and he led the Memphis State Tigers to the 1973 NCAA national championship game and consecutive

Missouri Valley Conference The Missouri Valley Conference (also called MVC or simply "The Valley") is the third-oldest collegiate athletic conference in the United States. The conference's members are primarily located in the midwest. History The MVC was established ...

titles in the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons. He coached the US national team in the

1974 FIBA World Championship The 1974 FIBA World Championship was the 7th FIBA World Championship, the international basketball world championship for men's teams. It was hosted by Puerto Rico from July 3 to 14, 1974. The tournament was won by the Soviet Union. Venues Comp ...

, winning the bronze medal. Bartow signed a five-year

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

to replace Harv Schmidt at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...

in 1974. A last-place team the previous campaign, the Fighting Illini finished tied for ninth in the

Big Ten The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

at 8–18 (4–14 in the conference) in 1975, Bartow's only season there.2011–12 Illinois Basketball Record Book.
/ref> Despite this, he was the first Illini coach to extensively recruit talented

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

players from the

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

area.Moses, Sam. "Pursued By A Very Long Shadow," ''Sports Illustrated'', November 17, 1975.
/ref> He was succeeded by Lou Henson.

UCLA

Bartow left the Midwest for

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to succeed coaching legend John Wooden as the head 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 ...

. He led the Bruins from

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democrat ...

, guiding them to Pac-8 titles and a record, including a berth in the Final Four in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 ...

, falling to

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

, the undefeated eventual champion. Bartow coached the 1977 College Player of the Year,

Marques Johnson Marques Kevin Johnson (born February 8, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player who is a basketball analyst for the Milwaukee Bucks on Bally Sports Wisconsin. He played as a small forward in the National Basketball Associat ...

, but second-ranked UCLA lost to unranked Idaho State by a point in the Sweet Sixteen at As of 2020, he has the second-highest winning percentage at UCLA, behind Gary Cunningham (.862) and above

UAB

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 The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) is a public research university in Birmingham, Alabama. Developed from an academic extension center established in 1936, the institution became a four-year campus in 1966 and a fully autonomous univ ...

(UAB). He served as the Blazers' first head

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

and 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 ...

in 1982. Bartow retired from coaching in 1996, and in 1997, UAB renamed its basketball venue

Bartow Arena Bartow Arena is an 8,508-seat multi-purpose arena in Birmingham, in the U.S. state of Alabama. It is home to the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Blazers men's and women's basketball teams as well as the women's volleyball team. The ...

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 The Memphis Grizzlies (referred to locally as the Grizz) are an American professional basketball team based in Memphis, Tennessee. The Grizzlies compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference ...

and the FedEx Forum.

Honors

In 1989, Bartow was inducted into the

Alabama Sports Hall of Fame The Alabama Sports Hall of Fame (ASHOF) is a state museum located in Birmingham, Alabama, dedicated to communicating the state’s athletic history. The museum displays over 5,000 objects related to athletes who were born in Alabama or earned 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

's 150 most influential people in October 2009. Bartow was inducted into the

National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is a hall of fame and museum dedicated to men's college basketball. The museum is an integral portion of the College Basketball Experience created by the National ...

in Kansas City on November 22, 2009, along with fellow inductees Magic Johnson,

Larry Bird Larry Joe Bird (born December 7, 1956) is an American former professional basketball player, coach, and executive in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Nicknamed "the Hick from French Lick" and "Larry Legend", Bird is widely regarded a ...

Wayman Tisdale Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma,

, 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.MIAA Hall of Fame
/ref>

Death

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 after a two-year battle with the disease.

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Sports Reference
Gene Bartow * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bartow, Gene 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 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

High school

College

UCLA

UAB

Honors

Death

Head coaching record

College

See also

References

External links