Lou Campanelli
Lou Campanelli (born August 10, 1938)
Teams coached: James Madison Dukes, California Golden Bears
James Madison record: 238-118 (.669)
California record: 123-108 (.532)
Overall record: 361-226 (.615)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 4 (1981, 1982, 1983, 1990)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 3 (1986, 1987, 1989)
- CAA Tournament Champion: 1 (1983)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 2 (1974, 1976)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 1985-1993 | California |
| 1972-1985 | James Madison |
| 196#-1972 | Rhode Island (asst) |
| 196#-196# | Bridgeport (asst) |
Lou Campanelli Facts
- Louis Campanelli
- Born August 10, 1938
- Hometown: Springfield, New Jersey
- Alma Mater: Montclair State University (BA, 1960)
- The NJ-native graduated from Montclair State (NJ) before starting his coaching career at Levittown HS on Long Island
- Worked as an assistant at D-II Bridgeport (CT) and under Tom Carmody at Rhode Island
- Spent 13 seasons as the head coach at James Madison, starting in Division II and transitioning to D-I in 1976
- When Campanelli was hired, the program was still in its infancy, as Madison had been an all-girls school previously
- Went to two D-II NCAA Tournaments, three D-I NCAA Tournaments and won the 1983 ECAC South (CAA) Tournament
- Compiled an overall record of 238-118 (165-87 in D-I) and never finished a season below .500
- Left for California in 1985, coaching the Golden Bears for the next eight years
- Was 123-108 overall, going to one NCAA Tournament (1990) and three NITs (1986, 1987 and 1989)
- Fired in February 1993 at 10-7; the Bears went on to reach the Sweet Sixteen under Todd Bozeman
- The school cited player complaints of verbally abusive behavior as reason to let Campanelli go
- Other jobs in basketball have included scouting stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers and New Jersey Nets in the NBA
- He worked for several years as commissioner of Pac-10 officiating and briefly coached in the Japan Pro League
- Wrote a memoir titled Dare to Dream: How James Madison University Became Coed and Shocked the Basketball World (2015)
Lou Campanelli Coaching Tree
- Todd Bozeman (Morgan State, California)
- Gary Colson (Fresno State)
- Sherman Dillard (James Madison, Indiana State)
- Mike Fratello (Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks)
- Jerod Haase (Stanford, UAB)
- Jason Kidd (Dallas Mavericks, Milwaukee Bucks, Brooklyn Nets)
- Ernie Nestor (Elon, George Mason)
- Jeff Reynolds (Air Force, Wingate, North Carolina Wesleyan)
- John Thurston (St. Francis Brooklyn (w), Northwood (w), Wingate, James Madison)
- Jeff Wulbrun (Denver)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division II levels; prior to the 1976-77 season, the James Madison Dukes competed at the Division II level
