Lou Campanelli, a former men’s basketball coach at JMU who guided the Dukes to three NCAA tournament appearances and three victories during the program’s longest winning streak at the Division I level, passed away on Tuesday, according to the institution. He was 84.
From 1972 through 1985, Campanelli directed the Dukes for 13 years, compiling a 238-118 record (.669 winning percentage). Except for his final season, when JMU went 14-14, his teams had winning records every year.
Before transitioning to Division I competition for the 1976–1977 season, Campanelli’s Dukes twice advanced to the Division II finals. In 1981, JMU qualified for the NCAA Division I tournament for the first time after almost defeating Ralph Sampson and No. 3 UVa during the regular season.
Lou Campanelli Obituary
The current Stanford head coach Jarod Haase, Denver coach Jeff Wulbrun, and Pac-12 Network commentator Roxy Bernstein all referred to Campanelli as a friend and mentor in the decades that followed his firing, according to a eulogy written by several people connected to those Cal teams.
“He made Cal basketball relevant,” Bernstein said. “It was a program that was an afterthought. There was a time when it was the toughest ticket in town to get. That was in the heyday of the 49ers and the Warriors were pretty good at that point. The students would camp out and line up to get in. He made it the thing to do around Cal, go to basketball games.”
The family has not disclosed Lou Campanelli’s burial plans, funeral ceremonies, place of interment, cemetery, or any other preparations deemed necessary for burial.