Bob Lowe, the Cal Poly men’s basketball program’s director of operations for the past two seasons, has announced his retirement after 30 years on the collegiate sideline.
A replacement to fill Cal Poly’s director of operations position has not yet been named.
During his two seasons as Cal Poly’s director of operations, Lowe was integral to the program’s scout work and opponent game preparation, in addition to scheduling team travel, coordinating video exchange, organizing summer camps and overseeing the team’s managerial staff.
“I have a great deal of respect for (head coach Joe) Callero and the Cal Poly basketball program. I’m very thankful to him for the opportunity to come back and be at Cal Poly for the last couple years,” Lowe said. “Cal Poly has a great athletics department and I know that the department as a whole and men’s basketball in particular will have continued success.”
With Lowe on staff, Cal Poly extended its run as the Big West’s leader in point allowed per game to five successive seasons. The 2014-15 season also marked the third straight year that Cal Poly finished among the top five programs nationally in fewest turnovers committed per game. During the 2013-14 season alone, Cal Poly captured its first Big West Conference Tournament championship, made its first NCAA Division I Tournament appearance and won the only NCAA Tournament game by a Big West program in the last decade.
“I want to thank coach Lowe for two great seasons as our director of operations,” said Callero, who enters his seventh season as head coach this fall. “His wisdom, maturity and intelligence were critical in us reaching our first NCAA Tournament. In addition, his organizational skills made every aspect of our program run smoothly over the last two years. We look forward to seeing him at many games in the future.”
Lowe, also a Cal Poly assistant coach from 2002-09, returned to the Mustang program in 2013 after spending a four-year block (2009-13) as an assistant at CSUN. During his time with CSUN, Lowe assisted the Matadors to a third-place finish in the Big West standings during the 2010-11 season and a semifinal appearance at the conference tournament.
As an assistant at Cal Poly, Lowe helped the Mustangs to three top-four finishes in the Big West standings and appearances in the 2003 and 2007 conference tournament championship games. The 2006-07 Mustang squad set Division I program records for total victories (19) and highest finish in the Big West standings (second).
Prior to his time at Cal Poly, Lowe enjoyed success at Portland (2000-01), Southern Utah (1992-00) and New Mexico State (1989-92), where he helped the Aggies to three successive NCAA Tournament appearances and a Sweet 16 showing in 1992. New Mexico State posted a combined 74-18 record with Lowe on the bench. Southern Utah also produced American West Conference titles in 1995 and 1996 with Lowe.
A 1985 graduate of George Fox University, Lowe served as an undergraduate assistant (1983-85) with the Bruins before joining two-year program College of the Desert (Palm Desert, Calif.) from 1985-89.
http://gopoly.com/sports/mbkb/2014-15/releases/20150522n57o1f
