Tom Spanbauer has announced his retirement after 28 years as head coach of the SUNY Cortland men’s basketball program. He will continue to work at Cortland as the women’s tennis head coach – a position he’s held since 2006 – and as a physical education instructor. A national search will be conducted for the position later this spring.
Spanbauer concludes his tenure on the Cortland hardwood as the program’s career victories leader with an overall record of 459-277 (.624) from 1995-2023. Including one season as head coach at Alfred University in 1994-95, his career coaching record is 471-290 (.619).
Under Spanbauer’s guidance, Cortland won three State University of New York Athletic Conference (SUNYAC) tournament titles (2000, 2013, 2016) and earned six NCAA Division III tournament berths. The Red Dragons advanced to the NCAA “sweet 16” and tied for ninth nationally in both 1999 and 2000 and advanced to the NCAA second round on three other occasions (2006, 2013, 2016). Spanbauer also guided the program to its first-ever NCAA tournament showing in 1997.
Cortland also won the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Upstate New York title in 2012 and was ECAC Upstate runner-up in 1996 and 2008, and in all the Red Dragons played in the NCAA or ECAC postseason 13 times.
Spanbauer’s squads reached the 20-win plateau eight times and won at least 16 games in 19 of his 27 seasons (the 2020-21 season was canceled).
Spanbauer was named SUNYAC Coach of the Year six times (1997, 1999, 2001, 2006, 2013, 2016) and the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) East Region Coach of the Year four times (1999, 2000, 2013, 2016). He also earned New York State Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year recognition in 1999, 2000 and 2013 and was the ECAC Division III Upstate New York Coach of the Year in 2016.
A Niagara Falls, N.Y., native, Spanbauer was a three-sport standout at Niagara Catholic High School. He was inducted into the Niagara Catholic Hall of Fame in 2012. Spanbauer graduated from Cortland in 1983 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and earned a master’s degree from Cortland in 1986 while serving as an assistant varsity and head junior varsity coach. Spanbauer was a four-year letterwinner, two-time team captain and two-time All-SUNYAC selection with the Red Dragons’ basketball squad. He finished with 1,106 career points, including a 427-point effort during an All-ECAC and all-state senior season.
“Having graduated from Cortland, it was always a dream of mine to become the head men’s basketball coach at my alma mater,” Spanbauer said. “Living out this dream was made possible with all the support I received from all my professors, fellow students and, of course, my college basketball teammates who always encouraged me to go for it! My two coaches while I played at Cortland, Dr. Alan Stockholm and Dr. Bill Williams, were great mentors for me. They were both able to educate me on all the challenges and hurdles one might face when trying to become a college basketball coach, and I cannot thank them enough for the support they gave me along the way. Once I began coaching at Cortland, I was immediately overwhelmed with the alumni support for the men’s basketball program. Our alumni, with their generosity, have allowed our program to do things above and beyond what a traditional Division III program typically does.
“Words cannot express the amount of respect, love, and appreciation I have for all the players and coaches that I had the pleasure of serving as the men’s basketball coach. I was always amazed and impressed with the level of commitment and willingness of all the players and coaches to do what was needed in order to represent Cortland with such pride, passion, and togetherness. I always felt that our teams played in a fashion that was consistent with the core values of our institution. The wonderful journey that I was fortunate to be on with our players and coaches has given me many memories that will last a lifetime. There is really nothing else I can say to express my deep gratitude to these individuals other than Thank You and I love all of you!”
Prior to his arrival at Cortland, Spanbauer was the head coach at Alfred University for one year and an assistant at Alfred for five seasons. His 1994-95 Saxon unit posted a 12-13 record, the best at the school in five years. Spanbauer also handled athletic administrative and physical education teaching duties at Alfred. He was the Saxons’ head men’s tennis coach for four years and women’s tennis coach for one year.
Spanbauer served as the freshman basketball coach at Albany High School from 1986-88 and as an assistant basketball coach at the University at Albany from 1986-89. He also has been involved with basketball at the Empire State Games, both as a player (Adirondack Region, 1988, and Western Region, 1990), assistant coach (Western Region 1993-96, including gold medal teams in 1994 and 1995) and head coach (Central Region, 1997-99). In addition, Spanbauer has served as the director of the High Five All-America summer basketball camp in Liverpool, England, and the Cortland Red Dragon Basketball Camp.
“SUNY Cortland and Cortland Athletics are eternally grateful for the exceptional service Tom has provided over these past 28 years,” said Cortland Director of Athletics Mike Urtz. “One of the many great attributes of Tom is how hard he works for not just his players, but every student he comes in contact with. To this day, he is constantly providing advice and direction to his players, PE majors, and any other student looking for assistance.
“In this day and age of college athletics, it’s truly refreshing to see that Tom has never lost sight of what his true responsibility is for Cortland. He has served as a great role model for our newer coaches on what it means to serve the university, not just your sport. He has touched the lives of so many, and has been a great teacher, coach and professional. And most of all, he’s been a great person to all of us along the way. I feel truly blessed to have been able to work alongside of him for the last 25 years.”
