Mark Slessinger
{{Short description|American basketball coach (born 1974)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Mark Slessinger
| image = Mark Slessinger in 2023.jpg
| alt =
| caption = Slessinger in 2023.
| current_title = Associate Head Coach
| current_team = Indiana State
| current_conference = MVC
| current_record =
| contract =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1974|5|2}}
| birth_place = Bloomington, Indiana, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| alma_mater =
| player_years1 = 1991–1994
| player_team1 = Aurora
| player_positions = Point guard
| coach_years1 = 1995–1996
| coach_team1 = Aurora (assistant)
| coach_years2 = 1996–1997
| coach_team2 = Central Michigan (assistant)
| coach_years3 = 1997–1999
| coach_team3 = Northland Pioneer
| coach_years4 = 1999–2011
| coach_team4 = Northwestern State (assistant)
| coach_years5 = 2011–2024
| coach_team5 = New Orleans
| coach_years6 = 2024–present
| coach_team6 = Indiana State (associate HC)
| overall_record = {{winpct|171|222|record=y}} (college)
{{Winning percentage|36|25|record=y}} (NJCAA)
| bowl_record =
| tournament_record = 0–1 (NCAA Division I)
1–1 (CBI)
0–1 (CIT)
0–1 (TBC)
| championships = Southland regular season (2017)
Southland tournament (2017)
| awards = Southland Coach of the Year (2017)
| coaching_records =
}}
Mark Edward Slessinger (born May 2, 1974) is an American college basketball coach who is currently the associate head coach at Indiana State University. Previously, he was the men's basketball head coach at the University of New Orleans. Under Slessinger, New Orleans won over 160 games, with two Southland Conference titles and an NCAA Tournament appearance in the 2016-17 season.
Early life and education
Born in Bloomington, Indiana, Slessinger grew up in nearby Ellettsville and graduated from Edgewood High School in 1992.{{cite web|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20221206030917/https://www.nola.com/sports/colleges/jeff-duncan-mark-slessinger-has-uno-rolling-again-on-verge-of-milestone-victory/article_8fba58a2-9032-11ec-afc9-6f19e37c09ef.html|archivedate=December 6, 2022|title=Mark Slessinger has UNO rolling again, on verge of milestone victory|url=https://www.nola.com/sports/colleges/jeff-duncan-mark-slessinger-has-uno-rolling-again-on-verge-of-milestone-victory/article_8fba58a2-9032-11ec-afc9-6f19e37c09ef.html|last=Duncan|first=Jeff|work=The Times-Picayune|date=February 18, 2022|accessdate=December 10, 2023|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=https://www.indystar.com/story/sports/college/2017/03/13/hoosier-leads-new-orleans-into-ncaa-tourney/99109036/|title=A Hoosier leads New Orleans into NCAA tourney|last=Neddenriep|first=Kyle|work=The Indianapolis Star|date=March 14, 2017|accessdate=December 10, 2023}} Slessinger attended Aurora University, where he played both basketball (three seasons) and soccer (four seasons) before graduating with a bachelor's degree in physical education in 1996.{{cite web|url=https://nsudemons.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-slessinger/2089|title=Mark Slessinger|publisher=Northwestern State University|accessdate=December 10, 2023}}
Coaching career
=Early coaching career (1995–2011)=
While completing his college degree, Slessinger was an assistant coach for Aurora in 1995–96. He then got his first NCAA Division I job in 1996 as an assistant coach at Central Michigan under Leonard Drake.{{cite web|url=https://www.sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/central-michigan/men/1997.html|title=1996-97 Central Michigan Chippewas Men's Roster and Stats|publisher=Sports Reference CBB|accessdate=December 10, 2023}}
From 1997 to 2000, Slessinger worked at Northland Pioneer College, a junior college in Arizona. After one season as an assistant coach, Slessinger was head coach from 1998 to 2000, going 19–12 in 1998–99 and 17–13 in 1999–2000.
In July 2000, Slessinger returned to the NCAA Division I level as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Northwestern State under Mike McConathy. Slessinger would remain at Northwestern State for 11 seasons, during which the team twice qualified for the NCAA Tournament and won three Southland Conference championships.{{cite web|url=https://unoprivateers.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/coaches/mark-slessinger/967|title=Mark Slessinger|publisher=University of New Orleans|accessdate=December 10, 2023}}
=New Orleans (2011–2024)=
Slessinger became the 12th head coach in the history of the New Orleans program on June 28, 2011.{{cite news |title=NSU assistant Mark Slessinger hired as head coach of UNO |url=https://www.ksla.com/story/14993018/nsu-assistant-mark-slessinger/ |access-date=December 23, 2021 |work=KSLA |date=June 28, 2011}} With Slessinger at the helm, the Privateers re-integrated into full time Division I status for athletics, despite budget challenges following Hurricane Katrina. In 2013-14 New Orleans became a member of the Southland Conference, and in just its fourth full season, won both the regular season championship and conference tournament championship in 2016–17.
With the conference tournament championship in March 2017, Slessinger ended a 21-year NCAA tournament drought and earned the program's first NCAA berth since 1996. In addition to the NCAA tournament appearance, Slessinger also received several individual awards for the 2016–17 season. Slessinger was named the Southland Conference Coach of the Year. The award was voted on by other conference head coaches after New Orleans was the preseason 9th place pick and then won the conference outright with a 13–5 record.{{cite news |last1=Duncan |first1=Jeff |title=UNO's ascension under Mark Slessinger a story of pride, perseverance and now wins |url=https://www.nola.com/archive/article_d8c5a060-72fb-5cbb-8c3b-a61ee8360b41.html |access-date=December 23, 2021 |work=The Times-Picayune |date=March 10, 2017}} Slessinger also received the prestigious Eddie Robinson Award in the summer of 2017. The award is sponsored by the New Orleans Sports Hall of Fame and recognizes outstanding achievements in athletics, academics, and citizenship to a member of the Louisiana sports community. Slessinger was also named Coach of the Year by the Louisiana Writers' Association and the Louisiana Basketball Coaches Association. Following the season, he received a new seven-year contract with the team.{{cite news |last1=Kleinpeter |first1=Jim |title=UNO hoops coach Mark Slessinger gets new 7-year contract |url=https://www.nola.com/archive/article_feda16d0-b8f6-54b0-b8ca-bd2544ecf8e7.html |access-date=December 23, 2021 |work=The Times-Picayune |date=August 28, 2017}}
On April 19, 2024, Slessinger left UNO after 13 seasons to become associate head coach at Indiana State under new head coach Matthew Graves.{{cite news|url=https://www.wwltv.com/article/sports/locked-on/lo-new-orleans/uno-basketball-coach-mark-slessinger-takes-indiana-state-job/289-d167a0e5-2bdf-4525-8ce4-fc2e89f7a9c9|title=UNO men's basketball coach Mark Slessinger takes job at Indiana State|publisher=WWL-TV|first=Ricardo|last=Lecompte|date=April 19, 2024|access-date=April 20, 2024}}
Head coaching record
=College=
{{CBB Yearly Record Start | type = | conference = | postseason = | poll = }}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = Northland Pioneer Golden Eagles
| conference = NJCAA
| startyear = 1997
| endyear = 1999
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = Northland Pioneer
| overall = 36-25 ({{winning percentage|36|25}})
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = New Orleans Privateers
| conference = NCAA Division I independent
| startyear = 2011
| endyear = 2013
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2011–12
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 17–15
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2012–13
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 8–18
| conference =
| confstanding =
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subhead
| name = New Orleans Privateers
| conference = Southland Conference
| startyear = 2013
| endyear = 2024
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2013–14
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 11–15
| conference = 8–10
| confstanding = 6th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2014–15
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 11–18
| conference = 6–12
| confstanding = T–8th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2015–16
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 10–20
| conference = 6–12
| confstanding = T–8th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship = confboth
| season = 2016–17
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 20–12
| conference = 13–5
| confstanding = 1st
| postseason = NCAA Division I First Four
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2017–18
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 16–17
| conference = 11–7
| confstanding = T–4th
| postseason = CBI quarterfinal
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2018–19
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 19–14
| conference = 12–6
| confstanding = T–3rd
| postseason = CIT first round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2019–20
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 9–21
| conference = 5–15
| confstanding = T–9th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2020–21
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 10–15
| conference = 8–7
| confstanding = T–5th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2021–22
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 18–14
| conference = 10–4
| confstanding = T–2nd
| postseason = TBC first round
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2022–23
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 12–20
| conference = 7–11
| confstanding = T–6th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Entry
| championship =
| season = 2023–24
| name = New Orleans
| overall = 10–23
| conference = 4–14
| confstanding = T–8th
| postseason =
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record Subtotal
| name = New Orleans
| overall = {{winpct|171|222|record=y}}
| confrecord = {{winpct|90|103|record=y}}
}}
{{CBB Yearly Record End
| overall = {{winpct|171|222|record=y}}
}}
References
{{Reflist}}
{{New Orleans Privateers men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Southland Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Slessinger, Mark}}
Category:American men's basketball coaches
Category:American men's basketball players
Category:Aurora Spartans men's basketball coaches
Category:Aurora Spartans men's basketball players
Category:Basketball coaches from Indiana
Category:Basketball players from Indiana
Category:Central Michigan Chippewas men's basketball coaches
Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Category:Junior college men's basketball coaches in the United States
Category:New Orleans Privateers men's basketball coaches
Category:Northwestern State Demons basketball coaches