Former Cal Coach Lou Campanelli Passes Away

Campanelli Resurrected the Program Before Being Fired for Cause

Photo courtesy Cal Athletics

Former Cal Men’s Basketball Coach Lou Campanelli passed away on Tuesday at the age of 84. He coached the Golden Bears from 1985-1993, after coaching James Madison for 13 years in the 70’s and 80’s.

Coach Campanelli joined the Golden Bears after the 1984-85 season, replacing Dick Kuchen who never finished with a winning record over the previous 7 seasons. Campanelli had earned a reputation as a program builder. During his tenure at James Madison, Campanelli led the program to 5 NCAA tournaments, including 3 upsets of higher seeds.

Shane Mettlen @Shane_DNRSports

Former James Madison and Cal men's basketball coach Lou Campanelli died earlier today at age 84, according to former assistant and longtime friend Bill Leatherman. Campanelli was the leader of the original NCAA Cinderella program, leading JMU to 3 tourney wins in the early 80s

In Campanelli’s first season at Cal in 1986, the Golden Bears beat UCLA. This was Cal’s first win over the Bruins since 1961. The season concluded with an NIT invitation, Cal’s first postseason appearance since 1960. Two more NIT appearances followed over the next three seasons. Following the 1989-90 season, Cal earned a 9-seed in the NCAA tournament. Campanelli’s Golden Bears beat Bobby Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers in the opening round, before falling to 1-seed UConn Huskies in the second round.

Campanelli after beating UCLA on 1/25/86, Ca’s first victory over the Bruins in 25 years. Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

Cal’s 1992-93 roster included Jason Kidd, Lamond Murray and Brian Hendrick. They flirted with a national ranking, and reached as high as 19th in early December. However, they stumbled in early conference play and were 10-7 (4-5 conference) after a 12-point loss at #8 Arizona in early February. AD Bob Bockrath fired Coach Campanelli on February 9th, 1993. In his press conference, AD Bockrath claimed “We’re making the change because I wasn’t happy with the direction of the basketball program.”

Over the following weeks, news emerged that Bockrath overheard Campanelli’s postgame locker room tirade after a loss to Arizona State the week before his firing. Bockrath indicated Campanelli’s verbal criticism was abusive, and of a “personal nature” towards his players. The SF Chronicle reported that Jason Kidd and several other players were considering transferring out of the program. In 2010, our own TwistNHook did an excellent recap of his departure and the subsequent lawsuit filed by Campanelli. Assistant Coach Todd Bozeman took over for Campanelli. Bozeman led the Bears to the Sweet 16, including arguably the Men’s Basketball program most famous victory in the Round of 32, an 82-77 victory over a Duke team that featured Bobby Hurley and Grant Hill.

Campanelli never returned to coaching. Over the years, he held several administrative positions with the Pac10-12, and leaned into his history with James Madison’s program. In 2015, he co-authored “Dare To Dream:How James Madison University Became Coed and Shocked the Basketball World”, chronicling his time with JMU and highlighting several points from his Cal tenure.

Campanelli also had a cameo in the 1994 movie Blue Chips, playing himself amongst a group of coaches scouting Penny Hardaway’s character.

Though his departure was controversial, there’s no denying Campanelli’s importance to the Cal Men’s Basketball program. Campanelli revived the program in the mid-80’s, making them regionally and nationally relevant for the first time since the 1960’s.