Birmingham’s Bartow Considers Texas A

Alabama-Birmingham Coach Gene Bartow is the leading candidate to become the next coach at Texas A&M;, the Houston Post reported today.

Bartow left Birmingham on Monday morning and was believed to have met with Texas A&M; Athletic Director John David Crow late Monday afternoon, the paper said. Bartow’s wife, Ruth, told the newspaper that her husband left town Monday but would not say where he was going.

Bartow had a meeting scheduled today in Birmingham with Dudley Pewitt, the Birmingham faculty representative for the Sun Belt Conference.

Bartow could not be reached for comment Monday, but Crow said a decision would be announced soon.

“Something could happen Wednesday or Thursday,” Crow told the Bryan-College Station Eagle. “But it might not happen until after the Final Four.”

Texas A&M; is seeking a replacement for interim Coach John Thornton, who took over in January when Shelby Metcalf was fired.

Bartow, 58, just completed his 12th season at Birmingham and his 28th season as a head coach. After stints at Illinois and Memphis State, Bartow replaced the legendary John Wooden at UCLA and coached the Bruins for two years before becoming Birmingham’s first basketball coach in 1977.

Bartow coached Memphis State when the Tigers lost to UCLA in the NCAA championship game in 1973. He guided UCLA to the Final Four in 1976 before losing in the semifinals to Indiana.

Bartow’s Birmingham team finished this season with a 68-58 loss to UCLA in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The Blazers were 22-9 this year, giving Bartow a 536-279 career record.

Bartow is five years into a 10-year contract with Birmingham that is believed to pay him $100,000 a year.