Charlotte Basketball Honors Former Coach With Bobby Lutz Day
Following a career with more wins and NCAA Tournament appearances than any other head coach in program history, Bobby Lutz‘s image could only be elevated to one final place: the rafters of Halton Arena.
And, at halftime on Saturday, Feb. 8 during Charlotte’s Alumni Reunion Weekend game vs. Rice, it will be Bobby Lutz Day as Lutz will take his rightful place among the other legendary names to have represented Charlotte Men’s Basketball.
The 49ers and Owls will tip off at 3:30 p.m., following Charlotte Lacrosse’s inaugural game at Jerry Richardson Stadium at 12:30 p.m.
“You can’t talk about the history of our men’s basketball program without talking about Bobby Lutz,” said Director of Athletics Mike Hill. “Bobby’s contributions and impact during his 12-year run as head coach truly set the standard for our program, and we are honored to be able to immortalize his tenure on February 8.”
Already a member of the Charlotte Athletics Hall of Fame, Lutz’s 12-year run as head coach included 218 wins, five NCAA Tournament appearances, three NIT trips, and three conference championships. Counting his three seasons as an assistant coach, Lutz was a part of seven of the 49ers’ 11 NCAA Tournament teams.
In his first season at the helm, he led the 49ers from a five-seed in the C-USA Tournament to a program-best five-seed in the NCAAs as Charlotte made its third straight trip to the NCAA Second Round. Charlotte went 23-11 and captured the C-USA Tournament Championship behind 1999 C-USA Tournament MVP Galen Young. With four wins in four days, Charlotte knocked out three of the league’s top seeds. The 49ers toppled Houston and Southern Miss in the first two rounds before eliminating seventh-ranked Cincinnati, 55-52, and besting Louisville, 68-59, in the title game in Birmingham, Ala.
It was the start of a remarkable run for the 49ers. Lutz would lead the 49ers to the NCAA Tournament in four of the next six seasons, capturing another C-USA Tournament title in 2001 and a regular-season crown in 2004. Along the way, Lutz welcomed a slew of outstanding players, including three-point specialists Diego Guevara, Jobey Thomas, Demon Brown, and Brendan Plavich. In 2001, Charlotte boasted ESPN.com’s National Freshman of the Year: Rodney White. The 2004 and 2005 NCAA seasons were highlighted by 2005 C-USA Player of the Year Eddie Basden and three-time First Team All-Conference power forward Curtis Withers. The 2005 team went on a stretch of 18 wins in 20 games, including wins at Davidson and Indiana in non-conference play and over No. 25 Marquette and No. 17 Cincinnati in league action.
In 1999, Lutz was named the Conference USA Coach of the Year by the Birmingham News. In 2005, he was a Jim Phelan National Coach of the Year finalist and was named C-USA Coach of the Year by ESPN.com and CollegeInsider.com.
He finished his career with a 218-158 overall record, part of nearly 400 wins overall as a collegiate head coach including his time at Pfeiffer (1986-95).