INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Oakland head coach Greg Kampe is the recipient of the 2026 Gene Bartow award, which is presented annually to a current or former coach for his contributions to the game. It measures a coach's win-loss record but also the impact he's made on his players, school, and community.

Kampe completed his 42nd season at the helm of Oakland Men's Basketball in 2026, continuing as the longest-tenured active head coach in NCAA Division I. He holds a career record of 731-571. Along with Oakland's transition into Division I, his 42 seasons at OU include seven regular season championships, three Summit League Tournament titles, one Horizon League Tournament title, and eight trips to the NCAA Tournament (four in Division II, four in Division I), and was named the Conference Coach of the Year five times (one in GLIAC, four in Summit).

"If Greg Kampe were coaching at a power school, he would be a household name," said Angela Lento, Vice President of College Insider, Inc. and member of the Gene Bartow award voting panel. "He has been one of the best coaches in college basketball for a long time, but beyond the recruiting, player development, and in-game adjustments – Coach Kampe is one of the best people in the profession. Greg Kampe is the genuine article."

Notable for leading Oakland to an upset over Kentucky in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, Kampe has coached 10 All-Americans, three Lou Henson Players of the Year, nine Conference Players of the Year, 79 All-Conference Players, and five NBA players under his tutelage. In the basketball community, he has served on many committees within the National Association for Basketball Coaches (NABC), and is a voter in CollegeInsider.com's MidMajor Top-25 Poll and the USA Today's Coaches Poll.

Within the greater-Oakland Community, The Detroit News' 2022 Michiganian of the Year is a spokesperson for Lighthouse of Oakland County, has worked with the Boys and Girls Club of America, the Oakland County Shelter for Women in Need, and Beyond Basics.

The bench leader was named the National Coach of the Year by CollegeInsider.com in 2000, inducted into Oakland's Hollie L. Lepley Hall of Honor in 2012, the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame and the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan (BCAM) Hall of Fame in 2017, and was named the NABC District 12 Coach of the Year in 2024.

Before becoming a head coach, Kampe was on staff at Toledo for six seasons, starting as a graduate assistant before accepting a full-time assistant coach's position in 1979.

Kampe played football and basketball at Bowling Green from 1974-1978, earning three letters in basketball and was a punter and a defensive back for the football Falcons. He was a two-time All-MAC Second-Team selection at the latter spot, setting the school record (since broken) with a 77-yard punt in a 1975 win over Southern Miss. Kampe was inducted into the BGSU Hall of Fame in 2025.

The Gene Bartow award is named in honor of a legendary coach who compiled a 647-353 record and is one of only 17 coaches in Division I college basketball history to take multiple teams to the Final Four.

In four seasons at Memphis State, Bartow averaged over 20 wins per season and led the Tigers to the 1973 national title game.

After a one-year stint at Illinois, Bartow was given the unenviable task of following the legendary Coach John Wooden at UCLA. In his first season, he guided the Bruins to the Final Four. After just two seasons in Westwood, Bartow left to literally start a new program at the University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB).

Seemingly unheard of today, Bartow built the program from scratch and built it into a perennial player in March. He won four Sun Belt tournaments and three regular-season titles during his 17 years at UAB, leading the program to a 350-193 record and seven consecutive NCAA tournament appearances.

Coach Bartow passed away in 2012 at age 81, following a two-year battle with stomach cancer.


How to Follow Oakland Men's Basketball: For complete information on Oakland Men's Basketball, follow the team on X at @OaklandMBB and head coach Greg Kampe at @KampeOU. The team is also on Instagram and Facebook.