Bob Battisti is in his fourth season at SWOSU in 2016-17 after being tabbed as the 14th men’s basketball coach in Bulldog basketball history in April 2013. In three years with the Bulldogs, Battisti has guided SWOSU to a record of 50-35, giving him a career record of 459-331 in 27 years as a collegiate head coach.
Battisti has guided five All-Great American Conference selections while at SWOSU, including two-time all-conference selection Martell Collins, who was named a First Team All-GAC honoree in 2016. Battisti has also mentored one All-American (Rod Camphor), one GAC Player of the Year (Camphor) and one GAC Defensive Player of the Year (Michael Bradley).
Battisti has led the Bulldogs to at least 16 wins in each of his first three seasons, including a record of 17-12 in 2015-16. SWOSU opened the season with a 7-1 record and went on to finish fourth in the regular season GAC standings at 13-9 before being knocked out of the GAC Tournament by Southern Arkansas in the quarterfinals. Two players earned all-conference distinction for the Bulldogs, with Martell Collins being named to the first team and Markeise Champion garnering an honorable mention selection.
In his second year at SWOSU, Battisti guided a Bulldog team that again led the Great American Conference in scoring defense, allowing 68.4 points per game while also committing the fewest turnovers in the league at 9.8 per game. SWOSU finished the season with a 16-13 (9-11 GAC) record, tying for seventh place in the regular season standings. In the GAC Tournament, the Bulldogs became the first No. 8 seed earn a quarterfinal victory with a dramatic 71-67 overtime win against league-champion Ouachita Baptist. Martell Collins was named a Second Team All-GAC selection in 2014-15, becoming the third all-league player tutored by Battisti.
Battisti’s first team at SWOSU finished as the runner-up in the Great American Conference with a 17-10 (14-6 GAC) record after being picked ninth in the preseason conference poll. Under the direction of Battisti, SWOSU’s Rod Camphor blossomed into one of the top players in the Central Region, being named the GAC Player of the Year before earning all-region honors from Daktronics and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and an Honorable Mention All-American selection by the Division II Bulletin. Camphor capped off his senior season by becoming the first GAC player to be chosen for the Reese’s Division II College All-Star Game where he scored 17 points to lead his team.
Defense and ball control helped the Bulldogs have a successful season in Battisti’s first campaign. SWOSU led the GAC in blocked shots behind conference Defensive Player of the Year Michael Bradley and they committed the fewest turnovers in NCAA Division II with 243, an average of just 9.0 per game.
Battisti came to SWOSU as no stranger to the collegiate basketball scene in the state of Oklahoma after spending two seasons as an assistant coach at Oklahoma Christian University in Edmond, helping the Eagles to a record of 40-25. In 2012, OCU won the Sooner Athletic Conference tournament title, giving the program its first postseason basketball title in 30 years, and this past season they reached the National Christian College Athletic Association championship game.
Prior to his stint at OCU, Battisti spent 25 years at Northwestern Oklahoma State, coaching the men’s basketball team for 21 seasons before taking over as the school’s athletic director for four years.
As the school’s athletic director, Battisti launched the ‘Vision for Victory’ fundraising campaign which netted $2.4 million for major athletic facility improvements. He also led Northwestern’s efforts to seek membership into NCAA Division II.
He took over the men’s basketball team at Northwestern in 1986 and quickly turned the program into a consistent winner. Battisti’s teams, often known for their intense defensive style, posted a record of 374-265 over his 21-year tenure. He led the Rangers to six conference titles and finished in the NAIA Top 25 seven times. For his efforts, Battisti was named a conference coach of the year five times and he was selected as the NAIA National Coach of the Year by the Basketball Times in 1994.
His teams also advanced to the NAIA National Tournament on six occasions, including an appearance in the national quarterfinals in 2007. His best year at Northwestern was the 1992-93 season, when Battisti led NWOSU to a 29-2 record and No. 2 national ranking entering the national tournament.
Battisti went to Northwestern after serving two seasons as an assistant at the University of Minnesota on a staff that included veteran NBA coach, Flip Saunders. He went to Minnesota following a stint as the head coach at Lakewood Community College in Minnesota where he posted a record of 35-31 in three seasons. His coaching career started at Bethany Lutheran where he was an assistant coach for three seasons for three seasons from 1978-81.
A native of Warren, Mich., Battisti received his bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education from Minnesota State University-Mankato in 1981 before earning his master’s degree in Education from the University of Minnesota-Minneapolis in 1985. He and his wife Shelly have one son, Cooper, 19, who will be a sophomore for the Bulldogs in 2016-17.
Coach Battisti Year-by-Year
| Season |
W |
L |
W |
L |
Conference Finish |
| 2013-14 |
17 |
10 |
14 |
6 |
2nd/GAC |
| 2014-15 |
16 |
13 |
9 |
11 |
T-7th/GAC |
| 2015-16 |
17 |
12 |
13 |
9 |
T-4th/GAC |
| Totals (at SWOSU) |
50 |
35 |
36 |
26 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| 2006-07 (NWOSU) |
22 |
12 |
|
|
NAIA Tournament |
| 2005-06 |
17 |
14 |
|
|
|
| 2004-05 |
18 |
13 |
|
|
|
| 2003-04 |
13 |
16 |
|
|
|
| 2002-03 |
10 |
20 |
|
|
|
| 2001-02 |
16 |
15 |
|
|
|
| 2000-01 |
21 |
13 |
|
|
|
| 1999-00* |
23 |
11 |
|
|
NAIA Tournament |
| 1998-99* |
23 |
10 |
|
|
NAIA Tournament |
| 1997-98 |
12 |
20 |
|
|
|
| 1996-97 |
16 |
14 |
|
|
|
| 1995-96 |
21 |
10 |
|
|
|
| 1994-95* |
18 |
12 |
|
|
|
| 1993-94* |
29 |
2 |
|
|
NAIA Tournament |
| 1992-93 |
17 |
11 |
|
|
|
| 1991-92* |
25 |
7 |
|
|
NAIA Tournament |
| 1990-91 |
14 |
14 |
|
|
|
| 1989-90 |
14 |
13 |
|
|
|
| 1988-89 |
19 |
9 |
|
|
|
| 1987-88* |
17 |
11 |
|
|
|
| 1986-87 |
9 |
18 |
|
|
|
| Totals (at NWOSU) |
374 |
265 |
|
|
*6 Conference Titles |
| Career Totals (27 Years) |
459 |
331 |
|
|
5 NAIA Tournament Appearances |
THE BATTISTI FILE
Coaching Career
Head Coaching Experience: (27 years)
Record: 459-331 (.581)
2013-Present: Southwestern Oklahoma State (Head Coach)
Record: 50-35 (.588)
1986-2007: Northwestern Oklahoma State (Head Coach)
Record: 374-265 (.585)
1981-84: Lakewood Community College (Head Coach)
Record: 35-31 (.530)
Other Coaching Experience:
2011-2013: Oklahoma Christian (Assistant Coach)
1984-86: University of Minnesota (Assistant Coach)
1978-81: Bethany Lutheran College (Assistant Coach)
Education
Minnesota State University - Mankato
Bachelors of Science in Health and Physical Education, 1981
University of Minnesota - Minneapolis
Masters of Education, 1985
