BOB RAGER -- Men's Basketball Head Coach
brager@pointpark.edu
(412) 392-3843
23rd season at Point Park, 23rd season overall
Alma mater: Point Park ('74)
AMC North Coach of the Year -- 2006-07
AMC North Coach of the Year -- 2004-05
NAIA Tournament appearances -- 1996-97, 2000-01, 2006-07
Bob Rager is the all-time winningest coach at his alma mater, Point Park University. The 2011-12 season is his 23rd year as head coach of the Pioneers, and last year he passed the legendary Jerry Conboy for the all-time lead in career wins at Point Park.
Rager's 310 career wins at Point Park are five more than Conboy, who won 305 games in 20 years from 1969-89. Rager got his record 306th win Jan. 27, 2011 in a 90-80 victory over nationally ranked #18 Malone.
Rager has the third-most wins of any four-year college basketball coach in the City of Pittsburgh. The all-time leader in that category is Pitt coach Dr. H.C. ‘Doc’ Carlson, who had a record of 367-248 in 31 years from 1922-53. Next on the list is Duquesne’s Charles ‘Chick’ Davies, who compiled a mark of 314-106 in 21 years from 1925-43 and 1947-48. Conboy now stands fourth with a record of 305-241 in 20 years from 1969-89.
Rager's time at Point Park includes leading the Pioneers to the NAIA national tournament three times and being named American Mideast Conference Coach of the Year two times.
Rager's best accomplishment as head coach at Point Park is a trip to the NAIA Divsion I Final Four in 1996-97. He also led the Pioneers to the NAIA DI Sweet 16 in 2000-01. Point Park was 29-1 to earn the No. 3 overall seed in 2006-07, but was upset in the first round.
In its 44-year history, Point Park men's basketball has had just four head coaches. Rager and Conboy have combined to coach the last 42 seasons. Rager was an NAIA All-American guard playing for Conboy from 1970-74 and later was an assistant under Conboy.
Rager was hired as head coach of the Point Park men's basketball team prior to the 1989-90 season. Through the years, Rager has continued the strong tradition built by his college coach and has also had several standout seasons.
Playing Rager's fast, up-tempo style of play that is focused on high scoring, Point Park has been one of the highest scoring teams in the country in recent years. The Pioneers have ranked in the top five of NAIA Division II in scoring in four of the last six years. That stretch includes leading the country in scoring in back-to-back years in 2005-06 (89.94 ppg) and 2006-07 (92.94 ppg). The Pioneers ranked third in the country in 2007-08 (88.29) and they were fifth in 2010-11 (87.8 ppg).
He has been named Coach of the Year on two occasions. Most recently he was named the AMC North Coach of the Year after leading Point Park to the AMC Championship in 2006-07. He was also named AMC North Coach of the Year in 2004-05.
The Pioneers won the AMC championship in 2006-07. That year, Point Park earned a trip to the NAIA Division II tournament after winning 29 of their first 30 games. Although Point Park lost in the first round, it set a record for wins in a season with a final record of 29-2. Also, the Pioneers set a record for consecutive victories by winning 20 games in a row.
The 2006-07 season marked the second straight AMC North Division title for the Pioneers, and they ended the season with a No. 3 ranking in the final NAIA Division II poll to set a school record for highest spot in the national ratings.
In 1996-97, Rager guided Point Park to the best finish in school history by leading the Pioneers to an appearance in the NAIA Division I Final Four in Tulsa, Okla. That year, Point Park had a record of 23-8, which was the first of Rager's three 20-win seasons.
Beginning in 2000-01, Rager began an eight-year stretch in which he averaged 18 wins per season. That year, Point Park posted a record of 21-12 and reached the Sweet 16 of the NAIA Division II tournament in Point Lookout, Mo.
Rager has a record of 80-76 in 11 seasons in the AMC. Point Park joined the AMC in 1998-99, but was not eligible for league standings until the following year. In 1999-00, Rager's team was 3-15 in AMC play but engineered a remarkable turnaround the following season.
In 2000-01, Point Park' second official season in the league, the Pioneers were 13-5 in AMC play and lost in the championship game of the conference tournament.
A native of the Pittsburgh suburb of Munhall, Pa., Rager was Point Park's first All-American, and he is one of a dozen players who have scored more than 1,000 career points.
Rager scored 1,071 career points, and his 367 career assists rank sixth in school history. In his four-year career he averaged 12.6 points, 4.7 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. Rager shot 43 percent from the field.
BOB RAGER'S YEAR-BY-YEAR RECORDS AT POINT PARK
YEAR OVERALL CONF. PCT.
2010-11 15-12 9-9 .555
2009-10 9-16 5-11 .360
2008-09 12-16 4-9 .429
2007-08 16-12 6-4 .571
2006-07 29-2 9-1 .935
2005-06 17-8 10-4 .680
2004-05 15-15 7-7 .500
2003-04 14-13 5-9 .519
2002-03 11-13 6-6 .458
2001-02 19-10 12-6 .655
2000-01 21-12 13-5 .636
1999-00 4-23 3-15 .148
1998-99 9-14 NA .391
1997-98 14-12 8-4 .538
1996-97 23-8 8-4 .741
1995-96 13-15 7-5 .464
1994-95 9-19 5-7 .320
1993-94 13-13 6-7 .500
1992-93 18-10 6-4 .600
1991-92 8-21 1-9 .276
1990-91 12-16 7-5 .429
1989-90 9-21 5-9 .300
TOTAL 310-301 142-140 .507
*Note: The 1998-99 season was Point Park's first year in the AMC. The Pioneers were not eligible for a conference record until the 1999-2000 season. Rager has a record of 75-66 (.531) in nine seasons in the AMC.