Bobby Champagne

Biography

Longtime coaching veteran Bobby Champagne joined the University of Houston Men's Basketball program as its director of operations and basketball strategy in October 2021. This is the third school at which Champagne has worked for Sampson. He previously served as Sampson's assistant coach at Oklahoma from 1994 to 1997 and at Washington State from 1991 to 1994. In their years together, Sampson and Champagne have combined for 250 wins with nine postseason appearances, including eight NCAA Tournaments. In his role with the Cougars, Champagne works closely with Sampson and the coaching staff. His primary responsibilities include scheduling games, coordinating team travel, managing the program's budget, organizing day-to-day schedules and other operational duties. He also serves as liaison for the program to the Athletics Department and the University. Champagne came to Houston after serving as the head coach at Tharptown High School in Russellville, Ala. From 2003 to 2018 he served as the head coach at North Alabama. During that time, he compiled a 245-194 record with four NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight berth in 2008. His 2008 squad won the NCAA Division II South Regional championship and the Gulf South Conference Tournament as he was recognized as the South Region Coach of the Year by the NCAA. In addition to his work with Sampson at Washington State and Oklahoma, Champagne also served as an assistant coach at UTEP (2002-03), Georgia State (2001-02) and Lou