Bob Marlin

Bob Marlin
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamLouisiana
ConferenceSun Belt
Record266–189 (.585)
Biographical details
Born (1959-03-05) March 5, 1959 (age 65)
Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.
Alma materMississippi State University
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1981–1983Northeast Louisiana (GA)
1983–1989Houston Baptist (assistant)
1989–1990Marshall (assistant)
1990–1995Pensacola JC
1995–1998Alabama (assistant)
1998–2010Sam Houston State
2010–presentLouisiana
Head coaching record
Overall491–320 (.605) (Division I)
123–35 (.778) (NJCAA)
Tournaments0–4 (NCAA Division I)
0–1 (NIT)
4–3 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Awards

Robert Lee Marlin (born March 5, 1959) is an American college basketball coach who is the current head men's basketball coach for the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns men’s basketball team. Previously, he was the head coach at Sam Houston State from 1998 to 2010.[1]

Early life and education

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Born in Tupelo, Mississippi, Marlin graduated from Mississippi State University in 1981 with a B.S. in physical education.[2] Marlin completed a master's degree in health and physical education at Northeast Louisiana University (now the University of Louisiana at Monroe) in 1983.[2]

Coaching career

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Early assistant positions (1983–1990)

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While attending graduate school at Northeast Louisiana, Marlin was a graduate assistant for the Northeast Louisiana Indians men's basketball team under Mike Vining from 1981 to 1983, during which Northeast Louisiana made the 1982 NCAA tournament.[2]

After graduate school, Marlin worked in his first full-time coaching job as an assistant at Houston Baptist from 1983 to 1989 under Gene Iba and Tommy Jones. Marlin helped Houston Baptist qualify for the 1984 NCAA tournament.[2]

In the 1989–90 season, Marlin was an assistant at Marshall under Dana Altman on a team that finished second in the Southern Conference.[2][3]

Pensacola Junior College (1990–1995)

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Marlin's first head coaching position was at Pensacola Junior College (now Pensacola State College) from 1990 to 1995. In five seasons, Marlin led Pensacola to a 123–35 record and the 1993 NJCAA national championship, for which he won NJCAA Coach of the Year honors. Additionally, 27 players who played under Marlin won athletic scholarships from four-year schools.[2]

Alabama assistant (1995–1998)

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Returning to the NCAA Division I level, Marlin was an assistant coach at Alabama from 1995 to 1998 under David Hobbs.[4] During this time, Alabama finished third in the 1996 National Invitation Tournament.[5]

Sam Houston State (1998–2010)

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At Sam Houston State, Marlin was head coach from 1998 to 2010. With a cumulative 225–131 record, Marlin led the Bearkats to three Southland Conference regular season titles (2000, 2003, and 2010) and two Southland Conference tournament titles and NCAA Tournament automatic qualifications (2003 and 2010), including the program's first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament appearance in 2003.[6][7]

Louisiana (2010–present)

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The University of Louisiana at Lafayette hired Marlin as head coach for the Louisiana team on March 29, 2010.[8] In 10 seasons, Marlin has a cumulative 188–143 record at Louisiana (Louisiana–Lafayette before 2017), with two Sun Belt Conference regular season titles (2011 and 2018) and the 2014 Sun Belt Conference men's basketball tournament championship with an automatic qualification to the 2014 NCAA tournament.[6] On March 7, 2019, Marlin became the fifth coach in Sun Belt Conference history to earn 100 league victories after Louisiana earned a come-from-behind 77-72 win at Little Rock.[9]

Louisiana appeared in the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament in 2012, 2015, and 2016.[4] In the 2017–18 season, Louisiana reached a school record 27 wins with a first-place finish in the Sun Belt and NIT appearance.[4] Days prior to the NIT first round game against in-state opponent LSU, Marlin questioned why Louisiana had a lower seed than LSU. On March 14, 2018, LSU won the NIT first round game at home 84–76 over Louisiana. Late in the game, Marlin and LSU coach Will Wade were confrontational towards each other, even needing to be restrained.[10][11]

Head coaching record

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Junior college

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Pensacola Pirates (Panhandle Conference) (1990–1995)
1990–91 Pensacola 25–6
1991–92 Pensacola 24–7
1992–93 Pensacola 31–5 NJCAA Division I Champion
1993–94 Pensacola 21–9
1994–95 Pensacola 22–8
Total: 123–35 (.778)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

College

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Sam Houston State Bearkats (Southland Conference) (1998–2010)
1998–99 Sam Houston State 10–16 7–11 9th
1999–2000 Sam Houston State 22–7 15–3 1st
2000–01 Sam Houston State 16–13 11–9 T–4th
2001–02 Sam Houston State 14–14 9–11 T–7th
2002–03 Sam Houston State 23–7 17–3 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2003–04 Sam Houston State 13–15 8–8 T–5th
2004–05 Sam Houston State 18–12 11–5 3rd
2005–06 Sam Houston State 22–9 11–5 2nd
2006–07 Sam Houston State 21–10 13–3 2nd (West)
2007–08 Sam Houston State 23–8 10–6 2nd (West)
2008–09 Sam Houston State 18–12 12–4 1st (West)
2009–10 Sam Houston State 25–8 14–2 1st (West) NCAA Division I Round of 64
Sam Houston State: 225–131 (.632) 138–70 (.663)
Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns (Sun Belt Conference) (2010–present)
2010–11 Louisiana–Lafayette 14–15 11–5 T–1st (West)
2011–12 Louisiana–Lafayette 16–16 10–6 3rd (West) CIT First Round
2012–13 Louisiana–Lafayette 13–20 8–12 3rd (West)
2013–14 Louisiana–Lafayette 23–12 11–7 3rd NCAA Division I Round of 64
2014–15 Louisiana–Lafayette 22–14 13–7 4th CIT Quarterfinals
2015–16 Louisiana–Lafayette 19–15 12–8 4th CIT Quarterfinals
2016–17 Louisiana–Lafayette 21–12 10–8 T–6th
2017–18 Louisiana 27–7 16–2 1st NIT First Round
2018–19 Louisiana 19–13 10–8 5th
2019–20 Louisiana 14–19 8–12 T–8th
2020–21 Louisiana 17–9 10–7 2nd (West)
2021–22 Louisiana 16–15 8–9 8th
2022–23 Louisiana 26–8 13–5 T–2nd NCAA Division I Round of 64
2023–24 Louisiana 19–14 10–8 5th
Louisiana: 266–189 (.585) 150–103 (.593)
Total: 491–320 (.605)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

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  1. ^ Bob Marlin Named Men's Hoops Coach Archived 2011-07-15 at the Wayback Machine. ragincajuns.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Bob Marlin". GoBearkats.com. Sam Houston State University. 2010. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  3. ^ "1989-90 Marshall Thundering Herd Roster and Stats". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  4. ^ a b c "Bob Marlin". RaginCajuns.com. University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  5. ^ "1995-96 Alabama Crimson Tide Schedule and Results". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  6. ^ a b "Bob Marlin Coaching Record". College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com.
  7. ^ "Bob Marlin earns 200th coaching victory". GoBearkats.com. Sam Houston State University. March 7, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  8. ^ "Bob Marlin Named Men's Hoops Coach". RaginCajuns.com. University of Louisiana at Lafayette. March 29, 2010. Archived from the original on July 15, 2011. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  9. ^ "Bob Marlin Wins 100th SBC Game". RaginCajuns.com. Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns Athletics. Retrieved March 7, 2019.
  10. ^ Boone, Kyle (March 15, 2018). "WATCH: LSU and Louisiana coaches get into a heated exchange in their NIT game". CBS Sports. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
  11. ^ Mickles, Sheldon (March 12, 2018). "UL-Lafayette coach on LSU, NIT: Tigers 'probably didn't want to play this game, to be honest'". The Advocate. Baton Rouge, LA. Retrieved June 30, 2019.
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