Mark Slessinger

Mark Slessinger

Current position
Title	Head coach
Team	New Orleans
Conference	Southland
Record	121–145 (.455)
Biographical details
Born	(1974-05-02) May 2, 1974 Bloomington, Indiana
Playing career
1991–1994	Aurora
Position(s)	Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1995–1996	Aurora (assistant)
1996–1997	Central Michigan (assistant)
1997–1999	Northland Pioneer
1999–2011	Northwestern State (assistant)
2011–present	New Orleans
Head coaching record
Overall	121–145 (.455)
Tournaments	0–1 (NCAA Division I) 1–1 (CBI) 0–1 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Southland regular season (2017) Southland Tournament (2017)
Awards
Southland Coach of the Year (2017)

Mark Slessinger (born May 2, 1974) is the current basketball head coach at the University of New Orleans. Before becoming coach at UNO, Slessinger spent the previous 11 years as an assistant coach at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, Louisiana. During Slessinger's tenure, the team won two Southland Conference titles and went to the NCAA Tournament twice, posting a record of 2-2 in the tournament.

Prior to joining Northwestern State, Slessinger served as the head coach at Northland Pioneer Community College in Arizona, posting a 36-25 record. Slessinger started his career with a pair of one-year stints at Aurora University (IL) and Central Michigan.

He is a member of Sigma Lambda Beta fraternity. He graduated from Edgewood High School in Ellettsville, Indiana where he played basketball for the Mustangs.

University of New Orleans

Slessinger became the 12th head coach in the history of the New Orleans program on 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 of 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. 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.

During Slessinger's time on the Lakefront, the Privateers have had a 95% graduation rate and helped numerous players continue their playing careers professionally. Slessinger resides in New Orleans with his wife and children.

Head coaching record

College

Statistics overview

Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
New Orleans Privateers (NCAA Division I independent) (2011–2013)
2011–12	New Orleans	17–15
2012–13	New Orleans	8–18
New Orleans Privateers (Southland Conference) (2013–present)
2013–14	New Orleans	11–14	8–9	6th
2014–15	New Orleans	11–17	6–11	T–8th
2015–16	New Orleans	10–19	6–11	T–8th
2016–17	New Orleans	20–11	13–4	1st	NCAA First Four
2017–18	New Orleans	16–17	11–7	T–4th	CBI Quarterfinal
2018–19	New Orleans	19–14	12–6	T–3rd	CIT First Round
2019–20	New Orleans	9–21	5–15	T–11th
2020–21	New Orleans	0–0	0–0
New Orleans:		121–145 (.455)	61–62 (.496)
Total:		121–150 (.455)
National champion         Postseason invitational champion         Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion       Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion       Conference tournament champion