One of the true gentlemen of college basketball, former Tigers head coach Gene Bartow passed away on Jan. 3, 2012, aſter a nearly three-year battle with cancer. From 1970-74, Bartow guided the Tigers head to an 83-32 overall record (.722 winning percentage). His most memorable year in the Bluff City was the 1972-73 campaign when he guided the Tigers to a 25-6 overall record and the school's first trip to the NCAA Final Four and national championship game.
Bartow was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in November 2009, and a banner for that accomplishment hangs in the raſters of FedExForum. Bartow will be inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2012. Bartow's son, Murry, was presented with his father's induction plaque in October of 2011.
Following his time in Memphis, Bartow coached at Illinois and UCLA, before becoming athletics director and head coach at UAB.
GENE BARTOW ON SPORTS FILES WITH GEOFF CALKINS
2012 Tigers Men's Basketball Yearbook Page 44 University of Memphis
