Sat November 22, 2008
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Pat Douglass, entering his 12th season as head coach at UC Irvine in 2008-09, is the longest-tenured coach in the 43-year history of the Anteater program. He became the program's all-time leader in wins last season as he has compiled an Anteater record of 171-154 in the past 11 years. Douglass passed previous leader Bill Mulligan (163) in a 74-59 win over Pacific Feb. 14, 2008. Over the past eight seasons, Douglass' Anteater teams have won 77 percent (80-24) of their home games and compiled a total of 142 wins for an average of 17.8 per season. Douglass leads all Big West Conference coaches with 547 victories at the four-year collegiate level. In his 27th season in the four-year ranks, he is 547-273. He picked up his 150th win at UCI in the 66-61 victory at UC Riverside Feb. 14, 2007. Douglass earned win No. 100 as the Anteaters' head coach in the 85-83, double-overtime victory over Pepperdine at the Bren Events Center Dec. 18, 2003. Douglass gained victory No. 500 in his four-year collegiate coaching career when the Anteaters stunned then-No. 13 Stanford, 79-63, at Maples Pavilion Nov. 19, 2005. Douglass guided UCI to three consecutive 20-win seasons (2001, 2002 and 2003) and he led the program to two consecutive regular-season Big West Conference titles (2001 & 2002, the school's first). He also guided UCI to National Invitation Tournament appearances in 2001 and 2002. Douglass led the Anteaters to the program's most successful season in 2000-01 when UCI finished with an overall record of 25-5, setting a new school mark for single-season victories. Douglass was selected as 2001 Big West Conference Coach of the Year by his peers. The Anteaters advanced to the 2001 NIT, losing 75-71 on the road to Tulsa, the eventual NIT champion. Douglass was selected District 15 Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches and also was named the 2000-01 National Coach of the Year for mid-major schools by College Hoops Insider. In March 1997, Douglass became the sixth head coach in UCI basketball history after leading Cal State Bakersfield to three NCAA Division II titles in five years, including the 1997 championship. For his efforts, Douglass was named NCAA Division II Coach of the Decade by Division II Bulletin. He guided Bakersfield to national titles in 1993 and 1994, and Douglass was named the NABC Division II Coach of the Year all three of his championship seasons. He also was the California Collegiate Athletic Association Coach of the Year in 1993, 1996 and 1997. He was inducted into the Bob Elias Kern County Sports Hall of Fame in February 2004. After guiding Bakersfield to the 1997 national title, Douglass became part of an elite list of only six coaches in NCAA basketball history (Divisions I and II) to have won three or more national championships (UCLA's John Wooden, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Kentucky's Adolph Rupp, Evansville's Arad McCutchan, and Indiana's Bob Knight). The winningest coach in Bakersfield history, Douglass was 257-61 (.808) in 10 seasons with the Roadrunners. He led the university to the NCAA Division II playoffs all 10 years, reaching the Elite Eight on seven occasions. His 1992-93 NCAA championship team was 33-0 as Bakersfield became just one of six four-year college teams in the nation to post an undefeated record over a 25-year span. Douglass was the head coach at Eastern Montana (now Montana State-Billings) for six seasons prior to arriving at Bakersfield. He compiled a six-year mark of 119-57 (.676) at that school, including a berth in the NCAA Division II Final Four his last season of 1986-87 and three previous trips to the NCAA Regionals. He was inducted into that university's Hall of Fame in February 1999. A native of Tennessee, Douglass graduated from the University of the Pacific in 1972 with a B.S. degree and teaching credential in physical education and biology. While at Pacific, he was a backcourt teammate of current Tigers' coach Bob Thomason. |
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