He served as an assistant coach for the Stephen F. Austin and Lamar men's basketball teams.
As head coach for the Lady Cardinals, his team's results improved each year.
His 1990–91 team qualified for the 1991 NCAA Division I women's basketball tournament and defeated Texas, LSU, and Arkansas before losing to the eventual tournament champion finalist, Virginia Cavaliers, in the Elite Eight round.
The 1991 NCAA regional tournament game held on the Lady Cardinals' home court, the Montagne Center, against the LSU Lady Tigers set a Montagne Center attendance record for a women's basketball game with 9,143 fans in attendance.
[5] As head coach for the Lady Cardinals, Al Barbe was named American South Conference Co-coach of the Year in 1988 and 1989.