Inductees

Bartow, a Browning, Mo., native coached 36 years at six universities after coaching two high schools in Missouri for six years. Bartow began his coaching at the prep level in Missouri, coaching Shelbina and St. Charles High School basketball squads to a 145–39 win-loss mark in six seasons. His 1957 St. Charles team won the state championship.

Bartow coached at Central Missouri State University from 1961 to 1964, Valparaiso University from 1964 to 1970, and Memphis State University from 1970 until 1974, and he led the Memphis State Tigers to the 1973 NCAA national championship game and consecutive Missouri Valley Conference titles in the 1971–72 and 1972–73 seasons. After a year at the University of Illinois, Bartow replaced the legendary John Wooden as the head coach of UCLA. Bartow coached at UCLA from 1975 to 1977, guiding them to a 52–9 record, including a berth in the 1976 Final Four.

Bartow left UCLA after the 1977 season to take over the job of creating an athletic program at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). , more commonly known as UAB. He served as the school’s first head basketball coach and athletic director for 18 years. Bartow led UAB to the NIT in the program’s second year of existence, and followed that up with seven straight NCAA Tournament appearances, including trips to the Sweet 16 in 1981 and the Elite Eight in 1982. He retired from coaching in 1996.