Bobby Champagne
Bobby Champagne (born May 4, 1967)
Current position: Director of Operations & Basketball Strategy
Current team: Houston Cougars (Head coach: Kelvin Sampson)
Current conference: Big 12 Conference
Teams coached: North Alabama Lions
North Alabama record^: 245-193-1 (.559)
Overall record^: 245-193-1 (.559)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 0
- Gulf South (Div II) Regular Season Champion: 1 (2008)
- Gulf South (Div II) Tournament Champion: 1 (2014)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 4 (2006, 2008, 2013, 2014)
Awards:
- Gulf South (Div II) Coach of the Year: 1 (2008)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2021-present | Houston (DBO/Strategy) |
| 2003-2018 | North Alabama |
| 2002-2003 | UTEP (asst) |
| 2001-2002 | Georgia State (asst) |
| 1997-2001 | Louisiana (asst) |
| 1994-1997 | Oklahoma (asst) |
| 1991-1994 | Washington State (asst) |
| 1989-1990 | South Alabama (grad. asst) |
Bobby Champagne Facts
- Robert Joseph Champagne
- Born May 4, 1967
- Hometown: Lafayette, Louisiana
- Alma Mater: University of South Alabama (BS, 1990) / University of North Alabama (MA, 2014)
- Started out at Coastal Alabama College before playing two seasons (1987-89) at South Alabama for head coach Ronnie Arrow
- Began his coaching career at South Alabama as one of Arrow‘s graduate assistants; later coached with the Louisiana Stars (AAU) in 1990
- Hired in 1991 by Kelvin Sampson to be an assistant coach at Washington State, and followed Sampson to Oklahoma in 1994
- In six seasons working under Sampson, Champagne was part of four NCAA Tournament appearances
- Returned to his hometown of Lafayette, LA in 1997 and spent four years on Jessie Evans‘ staff with the Ragin’ Cajuns
- Worked under legendary head coach Lefty Driesell during the 2001-02 season at Georgia State, helping lead the Panthers to an Atlantic Sun title and a trip to the NIT (both firsts for the program)
- Spent the 2002-03 season at UTEP working under Billy Gillispie, then in his first year as a D-I head coach
- Hired in 2003 to be the head coach at then-Division II North Alabama, a position he held for the next fifteen years
- Went 245-193-1 overall at UNA, going to four D-II NCAA Tournaments and winning the Gulf South title in 2008
- In 2018, just before the program began its transition to Division I, Champagne’s contract was not renewed
- After a few years out of coaching and a brief stint at Tharptown HS (AL), Champagne was reunited with Sampson in 2021, becoming director of basketball operations and strategy at Houston
- Part of two AAC Regular Season Champion teams and two-straight trips to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen
Bobby Champagne Coaching Tree
- coming soon
^ overall and North Alabama records includes time at the NCAA Division II level only; UNA moved up to D-I in 2018