Gregg Marshall has accomplished something that few coaches can claim.  He has taken the Winthrop Eagles to the NCAA's "Big Dance" in each of his three years as a college head coach. Marshall's record in three full seasons at Winthrop stands at a very impressive 60-30.
    He struck gold in his first year as the head coach at Winthrop as he led the Eagles to their first-ever Big South Conference regular season championship, the conference tournament title and the school’s first trip to the NCAA tournament.  He led the Eagles to another Big South tournament title in 2000 and a second trip to the Big Dance, and then made it a three-peat in 2001 as Winthrop won the conference title in exciting fashion and advanced to the first-ever opening round game in NCAA tournament history.
    In his first year as a head coach on any level, the 38-year-old Marshall compiled a 21-8 overall record including a 9-1 Big South Conference slate. Winthrop’s improvement of 14 victories over the 1997-98 year was one of the biggest turnarounds for NCAA Division I programs. Marshall also directed the Eagles to a school-record 12-game winning streak during January and February. He did this despite having his team picked to finish last in the conference in nearly every poll and national publication. He was rewarded by being voted the 1999 Big South Coach of the Year.
    In 1999-2000 the Eagles won it all again as they finished second in the regular season and then captured the Big South tournament to earn the automatic bid to the NCAA tourney.  Winthrop received a No. 14 seed, the highest ever by a Big South Conference member, as the Eagles faced Oklahoma in the West Region at Tucson, AZ.  Sports Illustrated 's NCAA preview even picked the Eagles to defeat the Sooners, but that didn't happen.  Winthrop finished the year with a 21-9 record to give Marshall a 42-17 head coaching mark after two years.
    His third year was probably his best in terms of coaching skills as Winthrop was hit hard by the injury bug, but still managed to compile a 18-13 record and its third straight Big South title and trip to the Big Dance.

Firsts For Gregg Marshall In Three Years At Winthrop

*    Led Winthrop To First Big South Conference Regular Season Championship in 1999
*    Led Winthrop To First NCAA Tournament Appearance in 1999
*   Led Winthrop To First back-to-back Big South Conference Tournament Titles In School History in 1999 and 2000.
*   Led Winthrop To First Back-To-Back NCAA Appearances In Big South Conference History in 1999 and 2000
*    Led Winthrop To First Back-To-Back 20-Win Seasons Since School Became A NCAA Div. I Member in 1987
*    Led Winthrop To A No. 14 Seed, Highest-Ever For A Big South Conference School In NCAA Tournament in 2000
*   Captured First Big South Conference Coach of the Year Honor in 1999
*    Led Winthrop To First 3-Peat in Big South Conference History with a third championship in 2001.

    After spending 13 years as a valued assistant coach at four different schools, Marshall arrived in Rock Hill in April of 1998 with his guns loaded and eager for the task of building a winning program at Winthrop. Marshall hit the ground running and has not slowed down one bit as he has recruited and signed four student-athletes, evaluated prospective talent, worked the local supporters to earn their respect and help, hired a completely new staff of valued assistants, moved his family from West Virginia into a new home, conducted pre-season drills, and dealt with the usual day-to-day chores that face any Division I head coach. In addition to all that, he and his wife, Lynn, welcomed their second child, a daughter, in May, 1999.
    His appointment as the new Eagles’ head coach brought the South Carolina native full circle. After being born in Greenwood, SC, Marshall spent the first 3½ years of his life on College Avenue which is located adjacent to the Winthrop campus and just a few blocks from his new office in Winthrop’s 6,100-seat coliseum.
       During the two years leading up to his arrival at Winthrop, Marshall served as an assistant coach at Marshall University where he helped guide the Thundering Herd to the 1997 Southern Conference championship and before that was an assistant on John Kresse’s staff at the College of Charleston for eight years from 1988-1996 when the Cougars made the most successful transition ever from NAIA to NCAA Division I. During Marshall’s years there, the Cougars received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament in 1994 and consecutive NIT invitations in 1995 and 1996.
    "We had an excellent list of candidates for this job," said Winthrop Athletic Director Tom Hickman when announcing Marshall’s hiring. "In Gregg Marshall, we found a young man who we felt possessed the enthusiasm and coaching ability that could energize our men’s basketball program and make it competitive for a Big South Conference championship. However, we never dreamed that he would achieve those expectations in his first year."
    According to Kresse, Marshall did an outstanding job while at the College of Charleston in the areas of game and practice coaching, recruiting and public relations. "Gregg Marshall was instrumental in our move from NAIA to NCAA Division I. He will move Winthrop into a contender position for a Big Dance invitation in a very short time," said Kresse. That prediction certainly came true.
    "Gregg is certainly ready to be a head coach," said Marshall University head coach Greg White after Marshall accepted to Winthrop job. "He brings to the table so many positive qualities that Winthrop will benefit from. He has paid his dues and has done a tremendous job for me during his two years at Marshall University."
    While at Marshall, he recruited 1998 Mid-American Conference Freshman of the Year Travis Young along with MAC All-Freshman team member Joda Burgess. The 1997 recruiting class at Marshall was ranked by ESPN as the best in the MAC and among the Top 40 in the nation. During his tenure at the College of Charleston, Marshall was instrumental in the recruitment of NBA-caliber student-athletes from the state of South Carolina that include Anthony Johnson (a rookie starting point guard with the Sacramento Kings), Marion Busby and Thaddeous Delaney. All three players were voted Trans-America Athletic Conference Players of the Year.
    Prior to joining Kresse’s staff in Charleston, Marshall spent one year as an assistant at Belmont Abbey College (1987-88), and two years as an assistant at his alma mater at Randolph-Macon College in Ashland, VA, (1985-1987). During his year at Belmont Abbey, he helped guided the Crusaders to a 24-7 record and the school’s first NAIA National Tournament appearance in 25 years.
    In 13 years as an assistant coach, the schools that Marshall was associated with compiled a record of 268-129 for a success rate of 68 percent.
    Marshall received a B.A. degree in economics/business in 1985 from Randolph-Macon and earned the Master’s degree in Sport Management from the University of Richmond in 1987. He is married to the former Lynn Munday of Bellingham, Washington, who earned her master’s degree from the College of Charleston. They are the parents of a son, Kellen, age 4, and a daughter, Maggie, 13 months.