UIndy Athletics

In his nine seasons as the Greyhound head man, veteran coach Bob Bartolomeo (pronounced BART-uh-luh-MAY-oh) took UIndy from an also-ran to a Division II power. The Hounds captured six Great Lakes Valley Conference titles and secured five NCAA Division II playoff berths from 2012-18. Four times voted the GLVC Coach of the Year by his peers, “Coach Bart” amassed a 79-26 (.752) record at UIndy before his retirement in December of 2018, including a jaw-dropping 50-4 (.926) mark in GLVC play.

Bartolomeo’s teams also excelled in the classroom, as nine Greyhounds collected Academic All-America® honors, five garnered GLVC Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year nods and over 250 earned academic all-conference accolades.

His final season in 2018, Coach Bart led the Greyhounds to a 10-win season, another GLVC title and a return trip to the NCAA DII playoffs. The Hounds highlighted the campaign with the program's second-ever postseason win: a 38-27 victory over 19th-ranked Fort Hays State. UIndy finished the season with a No. 11 ranking in the final AFCA DII Coaches Poll, extending a school-record 25-week stay in the national rankings.

The 2017 season was also a special one. On the way to completing the team's first undefeated regular season since 1953, UIndy set new team records for most wins in a season (11), consecutive wins (15) and scoring offense (38.2 ppg). The Greyhounds also matched team and GLVC marks for fewest interceptions thrown (4) and garnered a conference record 14 GLVC Player of the Week awards, while leading the nation in fewest sacks allowed (0.5 per game). The Hounds also spent eight consecutive weeks ranked in the top 10, peaking at No. 5 (a program high) before settling at a final ranking of 13th.
 
With 35 years of experience, primarily in central Indiana, Bartolomeo coached at nearly every level, from high school to Division II to Division I bowl games. He spent six seasons as the UIndy defensive coordinator prior to stepping in to the head position in November of 2009.
 
Before coming to UIndy in 2004, Bartolomeo coached for 11 years at Ball State University, where he helped the Cardinals to two Mid-American Conference titles and two berths in the Las Vegas Bowl. He also spent one year as defensive coordinator and cornerbacks coach at Central Michigan University.
 
A 1973 graduate of Andrean High School in Merrillville, Ind., Bartolomeo began his college football career at Butler University, where he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees. In 13 years as a player and coach for the Bulldogs, he helped Butler to 10 conference titles, three Division II playoff berths and a 98-40-4 record. He was inducted into the Butler Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.
 
As Butler’s head coach in 1990 and 1991, he posted a 14-7-1 record. His 1991 team went 9-2 and was ranked as high as fifth in NCAA Division II before earning a playoff berth. The Bulldogs won the Midwest Intercollegiate Football Conference (now GLIAC) title that year, and Bartolomeo was named Coach of the Year for both the conference and the region.
 
Bartolomeo and his wife Laura live in Indianapolis and have two adult daughters, Anna and Abby.

 

Year	School	Record	Pct.	Accolades	Postseason
1990	Butler	5-5-1	.500
1991	Butler	9-2	.818	MIFC Coach of the Year Region III Coach of the Year MIFC champs	NCAA II playoffs (0-1)
2010	UIndy	6-5	.545
2011	UIndy	7-4	.636
2012	UIndy	10-3	.769	GLVC Coach of the Year GLVC champs	NCAA II playoffs (1-1)
2013	UIndy	10-2	.833	GLVC Coach of the Year GLVC champs	NCAA II playoffs (0-1)
2014	UIndy	9-2	.818	GLVC champs
2015	UIndy	10-2	.833	GLVC Coach of the Year GLVC champs	NCAA II playoffs (0-1)
2016	UIndy	6-5	.545
2017	UIndy	11-1	.917	GLVC Coach of the Year GLVC champs	NCAA II playoffs (0-1)
2018	UIndy	10-2	.833	GLVC champs	NCAA II playoffs (1-1)
Totals		93-33-1	.736