| Bob Campbell won 589 games in 32 seasons at Western Connecticut State. |
Western Connecticut State University announced that long-time men’s basketball head coach Bob Campbell will retire from his position on October 31. His assistant and Western Connecticut alum Jason Harlow will take over on an interim basis.
- From the archives:
Campbell, DaQuan Brooks eliminate the negative (Jan 12, 2012)
Campbell wins 500th (Nov. 20, 2010) - More coaching moves
Campbell led the Colonials’ program from 1984 through 2016, a 32-year span in which he won 589 games against 278 losses. That .679 winning percentage is the best in the program’s 70-year history.
Along the way, Campbell led the Colonials to five Little East Conference titles and 12 NCAA tournament appearances, most recently in 2012 when Western Connecticut advanced to the second round. The Colonials’ deepest NCAA tournament run came in 1990 when Western Connecticut lost 107-104 in overtime at Washington College in the sectional final (i.e. Elite 8). That season the Colonials went 28-2, with just one loss during the regular season.
Campbell earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut and his master’s degree from Columbia. After graduating from UConn, he returned home to Danbury where he taught in the public school and started his coaching career.
Campbell will be replaced by Jason Harlow who graduated from Western Connecticut in 2001. Harlow coached in Connecticut’s high school ranks for several seasons before becoming an assistant under James Cosgrove at Trinity (Conn.) in 2012. The next season he returned to Western Connecticut as an assistant under Campbell.
Campbell’s departure is the latest in a string of retirements from long-time Division III coaches. He follows Stockton coach Gerry Matthews (603 victories in 30 seasons), Wittenberg coach Bill Brown (543 wins in 29 seasons), Roanoke coach Page Moir (428 wins in 27 season) and East Texas Baptist coach Bert West (303 wins in 22 season).