-University of Memphis
IRVING, Texas - Conference USA has renamed the Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year Award to reflect the contributions of former Memphis and UAB head coach Gene Bartow. The honor will now be known as the Gene Bartow Coach of the Year Award beginning this season.
The Birmingham Tip Off Club sponsors the annual award, which is presented on the first day of the C-USA Basketball Championship. The suggested name change received a unanimous vote of support from the conference’s athletic directors.
Bartow, the legendary college basketball coach who led the 1972-73 Tigers basketball team to the NCAA National Championship Game against UCLA, lost his long battle against cancer on Jan. 3 at his home in Birmingham, Ala.
Renowned as one of college basketball's most outstanding coaches, Bartow will long be remembered as a "true gentleman" of the sport. One of the most legendary athletic figures in the city of Memphis' history, Bartow and his Tigers basketball teams have long been recognized for helping relieve racial tensions in the Bluff City following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King in 1968.
After coaching at Central Missouri State (1961-64) and Valparaiso (1964-70), Bartow came to then Memphis State University in the fall of 1970. He immediately set about re-establishing a basketball program that had struggled to a 6-20 record during the previous season.
Inheriting players like Larry Finch, Ronnie Robinson, Fred Horton and Don Holcomb, Bartow improved the Memphis team to 18-8 in his first season as head coach and was 21-7 in 1971-72. With the addition of Larry Kenon in 1972-73, Bartow's squad ran off a 14-game win streak during mid-season, won the Missouri Valley Championship, captured the NCAA Midwest Regional and found itself in the National Championship game against UCLA. Despite a strong effort, the Tigers fell to the Bruins, but earned the respect of the college basketball world as Bartow was named the National Coach of the Year. He completed his Memphis coaching career in 1974 with an overall record of 82-32.
Not one to remain idle, Bartow returned to Memphis in 2001 to aid in the development of the NBA's local franchise, the Grizzlies, after the Vancouver franchise moved to the Bluff City that same year. He worked for 10 seasons with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies, including four years in his role as president of Hoops, LP, which operates the Grizzlies and FedExForum arena.
One of the most loved and respected figures in Memphis and Birmingham sports history, Bartow was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009 and will be officially inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame on May 19, 2012. Bartow's TSHF induction plaque was presented to his son, Murry Bartow, by TSHF President, Dr. Bill Elmendorfer this past October.
