Anyone who has attended a men’s basketball game in the last 11 years may have seen head coach Bobby Champagne pacing the sidelines in Flowers Hall. Some would say there is more action on the sidelines than on the court when watching the Lions play.

Champagne has brought the Lions basketball program back to relevance at the Division-II level. UNA basketball had not seen a birth in the NCAA tournament in seven years prior to Champagne’s arrival in Florence.

Under the guidance of Champagne, the Lions have appeared in the NCAA tournament on three occasions. In the 2007-2008 campaign, Champagne led the Lions to the Elite Eight after winning the regional finals.

Coach Champagne answered some questions from a coaches point of view after being in the business for 25 years.

Q: You have been coaching at UNA for 11 years now. Is this where you would like to retire?

A: A dream job would be at The University of North Carolina, but I think the clock’s ticking for me on that one. I like it here at UNA and this has been a great place to raise my family. Hopefully I can win enough games here so they’ll let me hang around a little longer. I’ve got to put four kids through school so I don’t plan on retiring until I’m about 80.

Q: What is your greatest and toughest memory you have experienced as a head coach?

A: The 2008 season was special — we got to the Elite Eight and that was really special. All the losses are tough, but probably the game where we had an 11-point lead at home to Harding with a minute left and found a way to lose it. I don’t sleep well to begin with, but that night made it even tougher.

Q: What has been the craziest moment you have experienced as a head coach?

A: I don’t know. Maybe my first job as an assistant at South Alabama when Jeff Hodges hit the game-winning shot at The Omni to beat Alabama. I don’t know if that is the craziest, but it’s all I can think of right now.

Q: After being a coach for 25 years, what is your drive to get up and do what you do in what many people regard as a high-pressure job?

A: I just like it. If I ever dread going to work, I’ll find something else to do. I have no idea what that would be, but I love coming to work. I was an assistant at the University of Texas at El Paso one year and we won six games and that was tough, but I still liked going to work and I still worked on trying to get better. Winning always helps, but I love what I do and I’m very fortunate to be able to coach.

Seeing young men go on to be successful in life is the most gratifying part. After four years most all (of them) are going to stop dribbling a basketball. These guys going out and helping in their community is what is most important.

Q: Will you feel you have had a successful career if you never win a national championship?

A: Yes and no. Every year you want to win it all, but there are many great coaches that have never won it all. I think many people focus more on the destination than the process of the journey. I hope I’m still pacing the sidelines when they raise the third national championship banner here at UNA.

Q: How do you feel about the fan support for basketball at UNA? Why or why not is it up to par for your standard?

A: I think our support is good. I would like to see more students at all our athletic events, but our community supports us well. They say winning games helps, but our record could be 12-1 or 5-7 and our attendance numbers do not change much.

Q: If you could change one thing about your coaching career, what would it be?

A: I don’t know if I would change anything to be honest. I don’t live with a lot of regret about my coaching career.

Q: When we have special event games such as “Shooting for a Cure” to promote breast cancer and you wear bright pink pants instead of something more common such as a pink shirt or tie, do you do that to excite the crowd or do you personally like to get a little outside the box?

A: I ask the fans to get involved in games and dress up and show school spirit, so I feel that I should do the same thing. I also like that Loudmouth Golf sends me gear because I’ll wear clothing that’s unique. I think I like to be creative, too. You have to mix things up a little bit sometimes.