Bio

Bob Schermerhorn claims he has never worked a day in his life despite spending more than 40 years as an educator and coach.His career has taken him from high school to community colleges to universities, from Riverside to South Bend, IN.Tonight, we celebrate his accomplishments at Riverside City College.

Coach Schermerhorn arrived at RCC in 1989 with a tough task - follow legendary Hall of Fame coaches Jerry Tarkanian, Bill Mulligan, Dave Waxman and Bob Boyd. He took the Tigers to four consecutive Final Fours, nine straight post-season tournaments, and three conference championships. He fi nished hisTiger career with a record of 225-98, the College’s second all-time winningest men’s basketball coach. He was a two-time conference coach of the year and the state coach of the year in 1996.


After nine years at the helm of the Tigers, he took a break from the game to become RCC’s athletic director. As athletic director, he developed the AthleticHall of Fame, worked to pass the District’s Measure C bond for improved athletic facilities, and helped the Tigers athletic program become a state powerhouse.It is 45 years ago this year that his Hall of Fame journey began. In 1968 he got his fi rst taste of coaching as a walk-on coach for Hall of Fame coach Herb Livsey at Orange Coast College. He then made a name for himself at Canyon Hill School in Anaheim Hills, where he developed one of the premier programs in Orange County, and went on to coach at Chaff ey College for two years before joining Mulligan’s staff at UC Irvine. In 1984, he set off to Southern Utah University for five years before joining Steve Patterson’s staff at Arizona State University. He would eventually become the Sun Devils’ interim head coach, chalking up a long-awaited victory over UCLA.

After retiring from RCC in 2005, he remained active, serving as basketball coach at Fullerton College for a season, as athletic director at Santa Ana College and, fi nally, in 2011 returning home to Indiana to coach Holy Cross College’s men’s basketball team. His induction in the RCC Hall of Fame will be his second induction after previously being enshrined in the California Community Colleges Men’s Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 2003.

Schermerhorn came to RCC in 1989 after head coaching jobs at Southern Utah and Arizona State. While at RCC he guided the Tigers to nine consecutive playoff appearances and was selected as Orange Empire Coach of the Year in 1994 and 1996 and California State Coach of the Year in 1996. His 225 victories make him the second winning coach in the College’s history. He concluded his career with a .676 winning percentage and an overall record of 225-98. He took the Tigers’ program to four straight Final Eight appearances.