Gary Garner
Gary Garner (born September 12, 1943)
Teams coached: Missouri Southern State Lions, Drake Bulldogs, Fort Hays State Tigers, Southeast Missouri State Redhawks, Dakota State Trojans
Missouri Southern record: 15-15 (.500)
Drake record: 95-104 (.477)
Fort Hays State record: 138-44 (.758)
Southeast Missouri State record: 126-132 (.488)
Dakota State record: 218-241 (.475)
Overall record^: 562-506 (.526)
Career Accomplishments:
- NCAA National Championships: 0
- NCAA Tournament Appearances: 1 (2000)
- NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen: 0
- NIT Championships: 0
- NIT Appearances: 1 (1986)
- Ohio Valley Regular Season Champion: 1 (2000)
- RMAC (Div II) Regular Season Champion: 3 (1992, 1996, 1997)
- NSAA (NAIA) Regular Season Champion: 2 (2015, 2016)
- Ohio Valley Tournament Champion: 1 (2000)
- RMAC (Div II) Tournament Champion: 4 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
- NSAA (NAIA) Tournament Champion: 2 (2015, 2016)
- AII (NAIA) Tournament Champion: 2 (2012, 2013)
- NCAA Division II National Championships: 1 (1996)
- NCAA Division II Tournament Appearances: 4 (1994, 1995, 1996, 1997)
- NAIA Division II Tournament Appearances: 4 (2012, 2013, 2015, 2016)
Awards:
- Ohio Valley Coach of the Year: 1 (1999)
- Missouri Valley Coach of the Year: 1 (1982)
- NABC Div II Coach of the Year: 1 (1996)
- RMAC (Div II) Coach of the Year: 3 (1991, 1996, 1997)
- AII (NAIA) Coach of the Year: 1 (2012)
Coaching Career (head coach, unless noted):
| 2009-2023 | Dakota State |
| 2007-2009 | Iowa Energy (asst) |
| 1997-2006 | Southeast Missouri State |
| 1991-1997 | Fort Hays State |
| 1988-1989 | Tulsa (asst) |
| 1981-1988 | Drake |
| 1977-1981 | Missouri (asst) |
| 1976-1977 | Missouri Southern |
| 1971-1976 | Trenton JC |
| 1965-1967 | Missouri (grad. asst) |
Gary Garner Facts
- Gary Garner
- Born September 12, 1943
- Hometown: West Plains, Missouri
- Alma Mater: University of Missouri (BA, 1965)
- Was an all-state basketball player in Missouri before staying home to play for Bob Vanatta at Mizzou
- Three-year letter winner, Garner served as team captain as a senior in 1964 and earned All-Big Eight honors
- Stayed at Mizzou after graduation, spending two years as a graduate assistant on Vanatta‘s staff
- Spent four years (1967-71) coaching at Kemper Military Academy (MO) and then five years (1971-76) at Trenton JC (MO)
- After one year as head coach at D-III Missouri Southern, Garner returned to his alma mater to be an assistant under Norm Stewart
- In his four years on the staff, the Tigers won two Big Eight titles and went to three NCAA Tournaments
- Hired in 1981 to be the head coach at Drake, leading the Bulldogs for the next seven seasons
- Went 95-104 overall, finishing above .500 twice including the 1985-86 season in which the team earned a spot in the NIT
- After missing the postseason in 1987, the school fired Garner
- Spent the 1988-89 season on the staff at Tulsa as an assistant coach under J. D. Barnett
- Moved to the D-II ranks in 1991, becoming the head coach at Fort Hays State in Hays, Kansas
- Led the Tigers for six seasons, going 138-44 overall and winning three RMAC titles
- His 1995-96 squad went a perfect 34-0 and won the NCAA D-II National Championship
- Named RMAC COY three times and in 2011 was inducted into the RMAC Hall of Fame
- Garner’s success at Fort Hays caught the attention of Southeast Missouri State, who hired him as head coach in 1997
- Was 126-132 over nine seasons at the helm, winning 20+ games in two of his first three years
- Won the Ohio Valley title and Ohio Valley Tournament in 2000 to earn the program’s first-ever NCAA Tournament bid
- Finished below .500 in four of his last five seasons, including a 7-20 record in 2005-06 that led to his firing
- Took one year off from coaching then spent two seasons as an assistant under Nick Nurse with the Iowa Energy (now Wolves)
- In 2009, Garner became the head coach of the NAIA D-II Dakota State Trojans in Madison, SD
- Went 203-226 in fourteen seasons, reaching four NAIA Tournaments and winning two conference titles; retired in 2023
- Along with his wife, Barbara, has two sons, Matt and Jon
Gary Garner Coaching Tree
- Terry Carroll (Denver)
- Keno Davis (Central Michigan, Providence, Drake)
- Moe Iba (TCU)
- Chris Lowery (Southern Illinois)
^ overall record includes head coaching positions at the NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III and NAIA levels only