Norm Ellenberger
Norm Ellenberger (1932-2015)
Teams coached: Monmouth Fighting Scots, New Mexico Lobos
Monmouth (IL) record: 30-36 (.455)
New Mexico record: 134-62 (.684)
Overall record: 164-98 (.626)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 2 (1974, 1978)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 1 (1974)
- NCAA Tournament Final Four: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 2 (1973, 1979)
- WAC Regular Season Champion: 2 (1974, 1978)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2012 | New York Liberty (asst) |
| 2000-2003 | Chicago Bulls (asst) |
| 1990-2000 | Indiana (asst) |
| 1986-1990 | UTEP (asst) |
| 1982-1985 | Las Vegas/Albuquerque Silvers |
| 1972-1979 | New Mexico |
| 1967-1972 | New Mexico (asst) |
| 1964-1967 | Monmouth (IL) |
Norm Ellenberger Facts
- Norman Dale Ellenberger
- Born August 2, 1932
- Died November 15, 2015
- Hometown: Fort Wayne, Indiana
- Alma Mater: Butler University (BA, 1955)
- Played for Hall of Fame coach Tony Hinkle at Butler; in addition to basketball, he also played football and baseball
- Once pitched a no-hitter for the Bulldogs and spent some time within the Pittsburgh Pirates organization
- Inducted into the Butler Athletic Hall of Fame in 2012
- Taught and coached at New Haven HS (IN) for seven years from 1957-64
- Hired in 1964 to be the head coach at D-III Monmouth College (IL), going 30-36 over three seasons at the helm
- Also coached football for one year (2-6) and baseball for two years (21-14) at the school
- First arrived at New Mexico in 1967, spending five seasons as an assistant under Bob King
- Took over for King as the head coach in 1972, leading the Lobos for the next seven seasons
- Went to two NCAA Tournaments and two NITs during his tenure
- Involved in a recruiting scandal later known as “Lobogate,” involving academic and financial violations
- Ellenberger was indicting and later acquitted on seven federal charges, though was later convicted on 21 state fraud charges and given probation and a deferred sentence
- A fixture in the Albuquerque area, Ellenberger remained such after getting removed from position in 1979; he owned a restaurant in town and often appeared in television ads promoting other local businesses
- Also coached the Albuquerque Silvers, a professional CBA team that moved to town from Las Vegas in 1983
- Returned to coaching in 1986, spending four seasons working under Hall of Famer Don Haskins at UTEP
- Moved back to his home state in 1990, joining the coaching staff of another Hall of Famer, Bob Knight, at Indiana
- Ellenberger was in Bloomington for ten seasons and his tenure included ten NCAA Tournaments and one Final Four (1992)
- After Knight was let go in 2000, Ellenberger joined the Chicago Bulls’ staff as an assistant under Tim Floyd and Bill Cartwright
- Coached at boys and girls basketball the high school level in Wisconsin for many years at the end of his career
- In between HS stints, served as an assistant to John Whisenant with the New York Liberty of the WNBA
- Passed away in 2015 at the age of 83 in his cabin in Watersmeet, Michigan
Norm Ellenberger Coaching Tree
- Michael Cooper (Atlanta Dream, USC (w), Los Angeles Sparks, Albuquerque Thunderbirds, Denver Nuggets)
- Kevin McKenna (Indiana State, Omaha, Sioux Falls Skyforce)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at both the NCAA Division I and Division III levels
