Bob Schlosser, one of the winningest, most-decorated, and most-respected head coaches in recent Division III history, joined the Penn State Harrisburg men’s basketball program as an assistant coach in 2022-23.
Schlosser spent 27 seasons as the head men’s basketball coach at nearby Elizabethtown College, racking up 364 career victories and leading the Blue Jays to the 2002 NCAA Division III National Championship Game. His teams appeared in four NCAA Tournaments, won three conference titles, and 16 conference postseason tournaments.
Most recently, Schlosser helped lead Penn State Harrisburg to the semifinal round of the United East Championship Tournament in 2022-23. Nate Curry became just the second player in program history to earn all-region recognition when he was named to the D3hoops.com All-Region 4 Second Team. Curry was tabbed United East First-Team All-Conference, Zegary Scott III earned second-team all-conference honors, and freshman Chase Robinson was named the United East Rookie of the Year. Curry and Scott also reached individual milestones, with each player surpassing the 1,000-point scoring mark for their careers in February.
In 2001-02, Schlosser led Etown to a program-record 29 wins, a conference championship, and the program’s first Final Four appearance before securing a national runner-up finish. From 2002-04, he guided the program to 65 victories, back-to-back-to-back conference titles, and three consecutive trips to the big dance.
During his time at Elizabethtown, Schlosser developed 11 players that surpassed the 1,000-point mark and earned conference coach of the year recognition on four occasions (1992-93, 1998-99, 2000-01, 2001-02).
Prior to his time at Etown, he proved a stellar coach at the high school level. Schlosser tallied more than 200 wins as the head man at Allentown Central Catholic and led the Vikings to a pair of PIAA 3A State Championships in 1984 and 1986, respectively.
A standout as a high school player for Marian Catholic that included a 1971 PCIAA Class B State Championship victory, Schlosser graduated in 1972 before playing collegiately at East Stroudsburg University from 1972-77. While at ESU, he set the program's career record for assists (465) and his total still ranks third in East Stroudsburg history. His single-game record 18 assists against Shippensburg in 1975 and single-season record 230 helpers as a sophomore in 1974-75 remain school records.
For his efforts, Schlosser was inducted into Marian Catholic's Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. He has a spot on Allentown Central Catholic's Rockne Wall of Fame, and in recent years, has been inducted into the Via Lehigh Valley Basketball Hall of Fame (2010) and Carbon County Hall of Fame (2016). In 2012, Schlosser and his national runner-up 2001-02 Elizabethtown men's basketball team were inducted into the Ira R. Herr Athletic Hall of Fame.
Schlosser and his wife, Susan, reside in Elizabethtown, Pa. and have three sons, all of whom have been involved in college basketball as players or coaches. Schlosser serves alongside his son, Sam, as an assistant coach for Penn State Harrisburg.
