In five seasons as head men’s basketball coach at the University of North Alabama, Bobby Champagne has returned the Lion program to a position of national prominence.

After leading the Lions to four straight Gulf South Conference tournament appearances and its first NCAA tournament in 10 years during his first four seasons at the school, Champagne led his 2007-08 squad all the way to a Division II South Regional Championship and to a spot in the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass.

The Lions finished the season at 27-8 against one of the toughest schedules in school history and re- wrote much of the school’s record book in the process. The Lions were 9-5  at the season’s midpoint and then went 18-4 down the stretch and won nine straight.

Champagne was honored by the NABC as South Region Coach of the Year.

The 40-year-old Champagne, who has been affiliated with 11 postseason tournament teams (nine NCAA, two NIT) during his 20-year collegiate coaching career, came to UNA after one season as an assistant coach at the University of Texas-El Paso.

In his first season at UNA, Champagne led the Lions to a 12-16 record that also included a berth in the 2004 GSC tournament. The following season, the Lions improved to 14-14, and again were participants in the conference tourney.

During the 2004-05 campaign, UNA knocked off several ranked teams in the regular season, including No. 1 Southern Indiana on Nov. 20 at Flowers Hall. The Lions finished the year with a 14-14 mark.

In 2005-06, UNA was 18-11, played in the GSC Tournament and received an NCAA South Regional bid. The NCAA postseason nod was the first for the Lions since 1996 and the eighth for Champagne.

The Lions had their second consecutive winning season in 2006-07, going 15-14.

 Champagne was a member of the coaching staff at Georgia State University in 2001-02, working under legendary coach Lefty Driesell. The Panthers registered a 20-11 record, reached the postseason NIT and defeated two Top 25 teams (No. 23 Georgia, No. 15 Saint Joseph’s). Georgia State was 14-6 in the Atlantic Sun Conference, tying for first place with Troy State.

He previously was an assistant coach at Louisiana-Lafayette (1997-2001), Oklahoma (1994-97) and Washington State (1991-94). Three of the players he assisted in recruiting to Louisiana-Lafayette (Brad Boyd, Blane Harmon, Robert Jupiter) were three-time All-State selections as preps.

He started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at South Alabama. In 1990, he coached the Louisiana Stars, an AAU squad in his hometown of Lafayette, La. The Stars won the state championship, finished 10th in the nation and competed in international tournaments.

Champagne has worked with some of the nation’s  best basketball coaches in Kelvin Sampson at Washington State University and the University of Oklahoma and  Charles “Lefty” Driesell at Georgia State University.  He has coached teams that have six NCAA Division I tournament appearances, two NIT appearances and four conference championships. 

Champagne played collegiately at Jefferson Davis Community College (two years) and South Alabama (one year), where he earned his degree in 1990.

He earned his Associate arts degree in Liberal Arts from Jefferson Davis Community College in 1987, and his Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology from South Alabama in 1990. He was a two-year basketball letterwinner at South Alabama. He was named to the all-academic team (1987-88 season), and was also a President’s List honoree (1990) and a Dean’s List student (1988-90) while playing for the Jaguars.

Champagne and his wife, the former Anna Baxter, have three sons, Charlie (7), Will (6) and Joe (3), and a daughter, Annie (1).