Men's Basketball
Gottfried , Mark
Mark Gottfried
- Title:
- Head Coach
An 11-time NCAA Tournament coach, Mark Gottfried completed his third season leading the Matadors and 23rd overall as a Division I head coach in 2020-21. Gottfried is the sixth head coach in the history of the Matadors' program.Â
Since taking over as coach, Gottfried has coached the Matadors to 37 total wins and a 22-24 Big West record, highlighted by CSUN's best conference finish in 11 years in 2019-20.
This past season, Gottfried coached one of the youngest teams in Division I basketball with seven freshmen and only five returners from the 2019-20 team. CSUN posted its first winning non-conference record since the 2012-13 regular season while the Matadors handed New Mexico State its first loss in 22 games. The Matadors led the Big West for the third-straight season in field goal attempts (60.1) while they were second in the conference in turnovers per game (11.9).
Gottfried led CSUN to a 15-17 record and 10-6 mark in the Big West in 2019-20, good enough for second place in the league. It was the highest the Matadors finished in the Big West in 11 seasons. CSUN ended the regular season in grand fashion, winning four-straight games and 13 of 20 overall. The Matadors defeated UC Irvine for the first time on the road in nine seasons late in the year. CSUN entered the Big West Tournament as the No. 2 seed but would not compete at the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Matadors were the top scoring team in the Big West in Gottfried's first two seasons. They broke a number of single season team records including 3-point field goals made (243; 2019-20), field goals made (968; 2018-19) and blocks (154; 2018-19). Under Gottfried, the team played in a postseason tournament for the first time in nine years in his first year at the helm (College Basketball Invitational) and the Matadors posted a seven-game turnaround that season as well.
Over his three seasons, Gottfried's players have been named to the All-Big West team six times including posting five first-team selections. Lamine Diane was named a two-time Big West Player of the Year while he earned the Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards in 2018-19. TJ Starks became the second Matador in history to win the Newcomer of the Year award in 2020-21. Diane and Terrell Gomez are also the first two-time first-team selections in CSUN history. Diane would be named the program's second Division I All-American as a freshman.
Â
Coaching in the Power Five ACC and SEC, Gottfried has a rich basketball background and track record of success as a head coach, which includes stints at the University of Alabama, North Carolina State University and Murray State University. Prior to CSUN, Gottfried served as an assistant coach and scout with the Dallas Mavericks.
Gottfried spent six seasons with NC State from 2011-17 where he led the Wolfpack to four NCAA Tournament appearances. He coached NC State to the Sweet Sixteen in his first season and back-to-back 24-win seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13. In his second season at the helm, NC State defeated top-ranked Duke. He would lead the team to another Sweet Sixteen trip in 2014-15 after eliminating No. 1 seed Villanova.
Prior to NC State, he coached his alma-mater Alabama for 11 seasons, leading the Crimson Tide to two SEC championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances. Gottfried led the team to a 27-win season and a conference championship en route to earning SEC Coach of the Year honors in 2002. The next season, Alabama earned a No. 1 ranking in the AP poll for the first time in school history. In 2003-04, Alabama upset top-ranked and top-seeded Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and then defeated national champion Syracuse to reach the school’s first-ever Elite Eight.
He began his head coaching career at Murray State where he won three-straight Ohio Valley Conference titles. The Racers advanced to two NCAA Tournaments under Gottfried and held a No. 25 ranking in the final AP Poll in 1997-98.
His time on the sidelines began at UCLA as an assistant under Jim Harrick from 1998-95. In seven seasons in Westwood, he helped the Bruins advance to the NCAA Tournament each season, highlighted by the program's first National Championship win in 20 seasons in 1995.
Gottfried played one season at Oral Roberts in 1983-84, earning freshman All-American honors before transferring to Alabama. With the Crimson Tide, he started 98 consecutive games and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round three times. Gottfried left Alabama as the school record holder for the most 3-point field goals made in a single game (8) and career leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.485). He was selected in the seventh round of the 1987 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.
Gottfried earned a degree in communications from Alabama in 1987. He received the Hayden Riley Top Scholar Award and the Bryant Award as the school’s top scholar-athlete in his senior campaign.
Gottfried has four sons, Brandon, Cameron, Aaron and Dillon, and one daughter, Mary Layson. His father, Joe, is a former Director of Athletics at South Alabama. His uncle, Mike, was a former college football coach and ESPN analyst.
Gottfried's Head Coaching Record
Â
Since taking over as coach, Gottfried has coached the Matadors to 37 total wins and a 22-24 Big West record, highlighted by CSUN's best conference finish in 11 years in 2019-20.
This past season, Gottfried coached one of the youngest teams in Division I basketball with seven freshmen and only five returners from the 2019-20 team. CSUN posted its first winning non-conference record since the 2012-13 regular season while the Matadors handed New Mexico State its first loss in 22 games. The Matadors led the Big West for the third-straight season in field goal attempts (60.1) while they were second in the conference in turnovers per game (11.9).
Gottfried led CSUN to a 15-17 record and 10-6 mark in the Big West in 2019-20, good enough for second place in the league. It was the highest the Matadors finished in the Big West in 11 seasons. CSUN ended the regular season in grand fashion, winning four-straight games and 13 of 20 overall. The Matadors defeated UC Irvine for the first time on the road in nine seasons late in the year. CSUN entered the Big West Tournament as the No. 2 seed but would not compete at the event due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Matadors were the top scoring team in the Big West in Gottfried's first two seasons. They broke a number of single season team records including 3-point field goals made (243; 2019-20), field goals made (968; 2018-19) and blocks (154; 2018-19). Under Gottfried, the team played in a postseason tournament for the first time in nine years in his first year at the helm (College Basketball Invitational) and the Matadors posted a seven-game turnaround that season as well.
Over his three seasons, Gottfried's players have been named to the All-Big West team six times including posting five first-team selections. Lamine Diane was named a two-time Big West Player of the Year while he earned the Freshman of the Year and Newcomer of the Year awards in 2018-19. TJ Starks became the second Matador in history to win the Newcomer of the Year award in 2020-21. Diane and Terrell Gomez are also the first two-time first-team selections in CSUN history. Diane would be named the program's second Division I All-American as a freshman.
Â
Coaching in the Power Five ACC and SEC, Gottfried has a rich basketball background and track record of success as a head coach, which includes stints at the University of Alabama, North Carolina State University and Murray State University. Prior to CSUN, Gottfried served as an assistant coach and scout with the Dallas Mavericks.
Gottfried spent six seasons with NC State from 2011-17 where he led the Wolfpack to four NCAA Tournament appearances. He coached NC State to the Sweet Sixteen in his first season and back-to-back 24-win seasons in 2011-12 and 2012-13. In his second season at the helm, NC State defeated top-ranked Duke. He would lead the team to another Sweet Sixteen trip in 2014-15 after eliminating No. 1 seed Villanova.
Prior to NC State, he coached his alma-mater Alabama for 11 seasons, leading the Crimson Tide to two SEC championships and five NCAA Tournament appearances. Gottfried led the team to a 27-win season and a conference championship en route to earning SEC Coach of the Year honors in 2002. The next season, Alabama earned a No. 1 ranking in the AP poll for the first time in school history. In 2003-04, Alabama upset top-ranked and top-seeded Stanford in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and then defeated national champion Syracuse to reach the school’s first-ever Elite Eight.
He began his head coaching career at Murray State where he won three-straight Ohio Valley Conference titles. The Racers advanced to two NCAA Tournaments under Gottfried and held a No. 25 ranking in the final AP Poll in 1997-98.
His time on the sidelines began at UCLA as an assistant under Jim Harrick from 1998-95. In seven seasons in Westwood, he helped the Bruins advance to the NCAA Tournament each season, highlighted by the program's first National Championship win in 20 seasons in 1995.
Gottfried played one season at Oral Roberts in 1983-84, earning freshman All-American honors before transferring to Alabama. With the Crimson Tide, he started 98 consecutive games and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen round three times. Gottfried left Alabama as the school record holder for the most 3-point field goals made in a single game (8) and career leader in 3-point field goal percentage (.485). He was selected in the seventh round of the 1987 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons.
Gottfried earned a degree in communications from Alabama in 1987. He received the Hayden Riley Top Scholar Award and the Bryant Award as the school’s top scholar-athlete in his senior campaign.
Gottfried has four sons, Brandon, Cameron, Aaron and Dillon, and one daughter, Mary Layson. His father, Joe, is a former Director of Athletics at South Alabama. His uncle, Mike, was a former college football coach and ESPN analyst.
Gottfried's Head Coaching Record
| Year | School | Overall Record | Conf. Record (Place) | Postseason |
| 1995-96Â | Murray State | 20-9 | 12-4 (1st) | NIT First Round |
| 1996-97 | Murray State | 20-10 | 12-6 (T-1st) | NCAA First Round |
| 1997-98 | Murray State | 29-4 | 16-2 (1st) | NCAA First Round |
| 1998-99 | Alabama | 17-15 | 6-10 (T-5th) | NIT First Round |
| 1999-00 | Alabama | 13-16 | 6-10 (4th) | |
| 2000-01 | Alabama | 25-11 | 8-8 (3rd) | NIT Runner-Up |
| 2001-02 | Alabama | 27-8 | 12-4 (1st) | NCAA Second Round |
| 2002-03 | Alabama | 17-12 | 7-9 (4th) | NCAA First Round |
| 2003-04 | Alabama | 20-13 | 8-8 (T-2nd) | NCAA Elite Eight |
| 2004-05 | Alabama | 24-8 | 12-4 (T-1st) | NCAA First Round |
| 2005-06 | Alabama | 18-13 | 10-6 (2nd) | NCAA Second Round |
| 2006-07 | Alabama | 20-12 | 7-9 (T-3rd) | NIT First Round |
| 2007-08 | Alabama | 17-16 | 5-11 (5th) | |
| 2008-09 | Alabama | 12-7 | 2-3 | |
| 2011-12 | NC State | 24-13 | 9-7 (T-4th) | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2012-13 | NC State | 24-11 | 11-7 (T-4th) | NCAA Second Round |
| 2013-14 | NC State | 22-14 | 9-9 (7th) | NCAA Second Round |
| 2014-15 | NC State | 22-14 | 10-8 (T-6th) | NCAA Sweet Sixteen |
| 2015-16 | NC State | 16-17 | 5-13 (13th) | |
| 2016-17 | NC State | 15-17 | 4-14 (T-13th) | |
| 2018-19 | CSUN | 13-21 | 7-9 (T-6th) | CBI First Round |
| 2019-20 | CSUN | 15-17 | 10-6 (T-2nd) | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â |
| 2020-21 | CSUN | 9-13 | 5-9 (8th) | |
| TOTALS | 23 Seasons | 439-291 | 193-176 (5 Titles) |
Â
Texas State vs. Eastern Washington
Saturday, November 20
Texas State vs. Dixie State
Friday, November 19
A Conversation With Mark Gottfried
Friday, June 19
Preseason chat with Terrell Gomez
Thursday, October 03
