Oakland University men's basketball has now come full circle under the direction of head coach Greg Kampe. After 26 seasons at the helm, Kampe has led the Golden Grizzlies to NCAA Tournaments in both Division I and Division II, along with back-to-back 20-win seasons over the last two years. "We have a quality program that turns out talented student-athletes," Kampe said. "We try to do things the right way with good people who receive a good education and then go out into the world and have success after basketball. That's what our mission is." THE COACH A four-time Summit League Coach of the Year (1999-00, 2002-03, 2005-06, 2009-10) and National Coach of the Year (1999-00) by CollegeInsider.com, Kampe's tenure ranks fifth amongst active D-I coaches, trailing only Syracuse's Jim Boeheim's 34 seasons for the Orange. Kampe has guided OU to 445 wins during his career, placing him No. 28 against active D-I coaches. MICHIGAN SUPREMACY DIVISION I SUCCESS Instead, the Pioneers changed to the Golden Grizzlies and OU spent the 1997-98 and 1998-99 seasons in transition. Then the unexpected happened, Coach Kampe led the newly Golden Grizzlies to the Mid-Continent Conference regular-season title in their first year of competition at 11-5. OU was not eligible for the Mid-Con Tournament that season. In 2004-05, the Golden Grizzlies finished a sub-par season at 9-19 and 7-9 in league to finish in seventh place. As the No. 7 seed, Oakland upset No. 2 seed UMKC (67-63) and defeated Chicago State (56-53) before matching up with top-seeded Oral Roberts (25-7) in the championship game. Then Pierre Dukes made the shot heard round the world as time expired and sent Oakland to its first-ever NCAA Division I Tournament with a 61-60 victory over the Golden Eagles. OU went on to defeat Alabama A&M (79-69) in the play-in game of the NCAA Tournament in Dayton, Ohio, and then fell to eventual national champion North Carolina (96-68) in Charlotte, N.C. The conference may have changed its name in 2007 to The Summit League, but that did not derail Coach Kampe and OU's success. The Grizzlies have appeared in Summit League title games in 3-of-4 seasons, capturing the most recent title this year in dominating fashion with three double-digit wins. The win justified the most impressive season in league play. The Golden Grizzlies went 17-1, setting league records for wins and winning percentage (.944). OU also broke a school record with 26 wins and enter the Dance on a school record 11-game winning streak. Before the season Kampe asked his team, "Can you Finish?" Yes they can. OU suffered heartbreak in two games in 2008-09. After player of the year Ben Woodside lifted the Bison over Oakland (66-64) on a last-second 20-foot jumper with three seconds left in The Summit League championship game, the Golden Grizzlies were invited to the inaugural CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament. OU defeated Kent State (80-74) at home in the opening round, but tasted defeat at the hands of another buzzer beater, this time from 75 feet as Bradley escaped with a 76-75 win in Peoria, Ill. OU finished the year 23-13. The Grizzlies posted a 19-14 record in 2006-07 and once again suffered heartbreak in the league tournament title game. ORU exacted some revenge as the top two seeds battled in the championship game, this time with OU's Erik Kangas missing an attempt at winning the game with seconds remaining from three, eventually falling 71-67. A TRADITION IS BORN After two disappointing seasons where Coach Kampe was trying to build a winner, the Pioneers busted on to the national scene in 1986-87 where Oakland went 20-8. Winning seasons continued to ensue for the final 11 of D-II and OU appeared in four consecutive NCAA Regionals, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in 1996-97, ending with a then school record 24-7 season. OU captured Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) titles in the final two seasons (1995-96, '96-97) and Kampe led the Pioneers to six 20-win seasons during the D-II campaign. FAMILY Married to his longtime wife Sue, they both reside in Rochester Hills and have three sons, Keith, Branch (17) and Press (14). His late father, Kurt, was a guard on the University of Michigan's 1947 Rose Bowl and national championship football team, which went 10-0. Brother Kurt Kampe III, was a two-year letterwinner for the Wolverines in 1974 and `75 as a defensive back. UNDERGRADUATE WORK He earned a Master of Arts degree in physical education while at Toledo. Kampe personally combined excellence as an athlete and in the classroom in college. He is the only athlete in MAC history to earn first team all-Academic honors in both football and basketball. He earned dean's list honors with a 3.40 grade point average at BGSU, and received the President's Award as an outstanding senior student. Year-by-Year Record
^ First year of eligibility for Summit League Tournament |
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