University of Wisconsin - Stevens Point Athletics

Bob Semling enters his 18th season at UW-Stevens Point in 2022-23 and has won four national championships with the Pointers. In 17 seasons at UW-Stevens Point, Semling has led the Pointers to two NCAA Division III national championships (2010, 2015), in addition to being an assistant on the back-to-back national championship teams of 2004 and 2005.

Through his 17 seasons as head coach, Semling has compiled an overall record of 322-124, which includes a 169-68 mark in Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (WIAC) play. His .722 career winning percentage entering this season was the eighth-highest among active Division III coaches and ranks 29th all-time among all divisions for coaches with at least 10 seasons as a head coach[AS-SI1] . On January 11, 2014, Semling became the all-time winningest coach in UW-Stevens Point program history by recording his 201st career victory at UW-Superior.  He won his 300th game at UWSP on Feb. 19, 2019, with an 89-61 victory over UW-Eau Claire in the first round of the 2019 WIAC Tournament.

In 2015, Semling was named the National Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), D3hoops.com and Schelde Sports/DIII News. He also earned NABC and D3hoops.com Coach of the Year honors in 2010. Semling is a five-time WIAC Coach of the Year and has received the award in each of the last three seasons.

Under Semling's direction, the Pointers have finished as the consensus No. 1 team in the country after both national championships. The Pointers appeared in the top 10 of the D3hoops.com poll for 42 straight weeks from 2007-2011 and were in the top 25 for 90 straight polls until the end of the 2011-12 regular season. UW-Stevens Point ranked in the top five in 10 of the 14 polls conducted in 2009-10 and was ranked in the top five throughout the 2013-14 season, including a stretch of 11 straight weeks as the top-ranked team in the country.

In addition to the national titles and conference accolades, the Pointers have achieved some amazing statistical feats under Semling. In 2015, UW-Stevens Point led the nation in scoring defense (54.6 ppg), leading the team to the national title. UWSP led all NCAA Division III teams in both free-throw percentage and fewest turnovers per game in two of Semling’s first three seasons. UWSP set an NCAA Division III record in 2006-07 by shooting 82.3 percent from the line, and led the country the previous season at 79.2 percent.

UWSP was the only school among 1,187 NCAA and NAIA programs to shoot better than 80.1 percent at the free-throw line in 2006-07. The Pointers also averaged just 10.2 turnovers per game in 2007-08 (third in the nation) and committed just 8.5 turnovers per game the previous season. UWSP also had a NCAA Division III best 1.54 assist-to-turnover ratio.

Having served as an assistant coach with the Pointers’ back-to-back NCAA Division III championship teams in 2003-04 and 2004-05, Semling took over the reins from Jack Bennett in 2005-06 and guided a relatively fresh group of players back near the top of the WIAC standings with a third-place league finish and 17-10 overall record.

Semling is actually in his second stint with the Pointers’ coaching staff, sandwiching both tenures around eight years at the Division I level. Semling was an assistant coach at UWSP under Bob Parker from 1988-95. During that span, the Pointers posted a 127-63 record, including a 27-2 mark in 1991-92. The Pointers won two conference championships in Semling’s first tenure and the team made two NAIA national tournament appearances.

Semling then spent seven seasons as an assistant coach at UW-Green Bay and one year as the Director of Basketball Operations at New Mexico before returning to UWSP for the 2003-04 season. While at UW-Green Bay, Semling helped the Phoenix to a Mid-Continent Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance in his first season.

A Merrill native, Semling was a three-year starter at quarterback at UW-Eau Claire from 1977-79. As a student at UWEC, he assisted with Ken Anderson and the men’s basketball team, making NAIA Final Four appearances in each of his final two seasons.

Semling then spent one season as an assistant at Park Falls High School and assisted former Pointers’ coach Jack Bennett for two seasons at Wisconsin Rapids Lincoln High School, reaching the state tournament with both schools. Semling was the head coach at Wausau West High School for three seasons from 1985-88, winning back-to-back regional championships in his final two seasons prior to coming to UWSP.

He and his wife, Kathy, have three children, Jenna, Kreg and Lauryn.

Honors 
2015: NABC Coach of the Year, D3hoops.com Coach of the Year, Schelde Sports/DIII News Coach of the Year, WIAC Co-Coach of the Year
2014: WIAC Coach of the Year
2013: WIAC Coach of the Year
2010: NABC/UPS Coach of the Year, D3hoops.com Coach of the Year, Molten/DIII News Coach of the Year
2009: Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association (WBCA) Division III Men’s Coach of the Year
2009: WIAC Coach of the Year
2007: WIAC Coach of the Year