CHATTANOOGA, TN- Former Florida men’s basketball head coach Tommy Bartlett passed away at his home in Tennessee on Wednesday. The news was confirmed to the press Thursday afternoon.
Bartlett coached the Gators for seven seasons from 1966-1973. His teams compiled a 98-85 record during those years. Bartlett’s first squad finished 21-4, and produced the first 20-win season in program history.
Bartlett is responsible for one trip to the NIT, and recruited the first African-American player at Florida.
Bartlett attended the University of Tennessee and was a letterwinner in basketball and tennis.
Bartlett coached basketball at UT-Chattanooga from 1958-1962. Bartlett then coached the Tennessee men’s tennis team from 1962-1966 before accepting Florida’s position.
Bartlett returned to coaching in 1979 when he took over the men’s and women’s tennis teams at Chattanooga. His women’s teams won the Division-II National Championship three consecutive years, from 1983-1985 and he was inducted into the Tennessee Sports Hall of Fame in 1986.