LAFAYETTE – After a Sun Belt Conference Championship, an appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and the second most wins in a season in program history, Louisiana Athletics and head men's basketball coach Bob Marlin agreed to a three-year contract extension, Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Dr. Bryan Maggard announced Thursday.
The deal keeps Marlin, who has been with the Cajuns since 2010, in Lafayette through the 2026-27 season.
"We are excited for Bob Marlin to continue to lead our men's basketball program after coming off a historic season," Maggard said. "He is a man of high integrity and a proven winner, bringing three Sun Belt Championships to the University of Louisiana."
Marlin, the second-winningest coach in program history, led the Cajuns to a historic 2022-23 season. The Cajuns won 26 games, the second-most in program history, and were a perfect 14-0 in the CAJUNDOME, the first undefeated season in the facility's history. After holding off South Alabama in the SBC Championship, 71-66, the Cajuns nearly upset 4th-seeded Tennessee in the NCAA Tournament as a 13-seed, the highest ranking achieved by a SBC school since 2016. The Cajuns finished the season ranked No. 8 in the College Insider Mid-Major Poll, the highest finish in program history.
For his efforts, Marlin was named the Louisiana Association of Basketball Coaches and Louisiana Sportswriters Association Coach of the Year, the second time he received both of those awards while at Louisiana. He was also the SBC Coach of the Year and National Association of Basketball Coaches District 24 Coach of the Year in 2018. This season, he was also a nominee for the Skip Prosser Man of the Year and Hugh Durham Coach of the Year awards.
"I love coaching the Ragin' Cajuns and representing the state of Louisiana. The culture on campus and all through Acadiana is like a fairytale that's real," said Marlin. "I am grateful to have tremendous support from our administration and would like to thank Dr. (Joseph) Savoie and Dr. Maggard for their continued confidence in me.
"I look forward to continue working with the outstanding young men and great staff we have in our program. Last season was historical, and we look forward to making more history and building on our program's legacy."
The 13-year head coach enters the 2023-24 season with 247 wins at Louisiana, needing just 47 more to surpass Beryl Shipley for the most in the program's storied history. Marlin, already the winningest coach in the history of the Sun Belt Conference, is 18th among active coaches with 472 wins at the Division I level. Marlin currently ranks 89th all-time among all Division I head coaches. Marlin is closing in on 600 career wins as a head coach overall, winning 595 games including a national championship at the NJCAA level at Pensacola Junior College.
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