Heidelberg College, 1974 - 17th Year
The 2013-14 campaign will be the 17th at Northeastern State for Larry Gipson. The long-time leader of the RiverHawk men’s basketball program enters the year with a 264-188 record over his illustrious career.
Gipson is second all-time in school history behind only Jack Dobbins (314 wins) in career wins, and his .584 winning percentage is the best in school history. He reached the 100- and 200-win milestones faster than any other coach in school history.
Gipson has posted nine winning seasons in his time at NSU, and those include five 20-win campaigns and a national championship in 2002-03 (32-3 record). He has also led Northeastern State to five appearances in the NCAA tournament (1999-03, 2013).
The 2003 NCAA title was the first for Northeastern State in any sport and the first national championship won in RiverHawks basketball history. Gipson was inducted into the NSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004 for his outstanding coaching feat.
Gipson and Nolan Richardson are the only two head coaches ever to lead teams to a national championship at both the NCAA and NJCAA level. Gipson, Richardson and Ray Harper (NCAA D-II, NAIA) are the only three coaches in college basketball history to win national titles at two different levels.
Gipson began his college coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Tulsa under Richardson.
Gipson has won three national coach of the year honors throughout his career. He was named the 2003 Division II Coach of the Year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), he earned the 2003 Molten/Division II Bulletin Coach of the Year award and he was also the 1989 NABC national junior college coach of the year.
He was a coach at the USA Basketball Trials in the summer of 2003. He also received the top coaching honors in the South Central Region in 2009 and he was named the Lone Star Conference North Division Coach of the Year on five occasions. Gipson has coached more than 30 players who have played professionally.
Perhaps one of his most impressive feats came in 2012-13, when he returned the bench following a year off from beating cancer. The 2011-12 team finished just 5-21, but Gipson returned with a renewed vigor and led NSU to a 19-9 record and a berth in the NCAA Championship tournament for the first time in 10 years. Northeastern State also finished 12-6 in its inaugural season as members of the MIAA, and the team finished third in the league.
Northeastern State isn’t the only institution which has reaped the benefits of Gipson’s coaching prowess. He led Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (Miami, Okla.) to the NJCAA national championship in 1989 and logged a 217-87 record during his tenure. He coached the Golden Norsemen for nine seasons from 1982-91.
Gipson coached at the University of Toledo from 1991-96. He compiled a 68-73 record at the helm for the Rockets, and he posted winning seasons each of last three campaigns. He then left the coaching profession for one year before heading to Tahlequah.
His coaching record at all collegiate levels stands at 549-348 (.612) entering 2013-14, and he owns a 320-246 (.565) mark in the NCAA.
Gipson lists the legendary Henry Iba as his mentor. Only Gipson and Iba have won multiple national championships in the state of Oklahoma.
The Ohio native earned his bachelor’s degree from Heidelberg College in 1974 and a master’s degree from The University of Tulsa in 1984. In addition to coaching basketball at NSU, Gipson is an instructor in the College of Education at Northeastern State.
He was appointed by his peers as the President of the Board of the Directors for the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in April 2012 and served in that capacity until April 2013. On the NABC Board of Directors under Gipson, there were 14 NCAA Division I coaches, two NCAA Division II coaches and two NCAA Division III coaches. Notables on the board were Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Bill Self (Kansas), Jim Boeheim (Syracuse), Bo Ryan (Wisconsin), Mike Brey (Notre Dame), Jamie Dixon (Pittsburgh), Brad Stevens (Butler), Mark Gottfried (NC State), Lorenzo Romar (Washington), Phil Martelli (St. Joseph’s), and Johnny Dawkins (Stanford). The NABC was founded in 1927 by legendary Phog Allen, legendary coach at the University of Kansas.
Gipson is married to Jennifer Craver. His younger brother, Randy, is the women’s head basketball coach at Northeastern State, the only brother duo in America to coach the same sports of different genders.
Gipson’s Year-By-Year Record as a collegiate head coach in the NCAA
|
Year |
School |
W-L |
NCAA Postseason |
|
2012-13 |
Northeastern State |
19-9 |
NCAA First Round |
|
2011-12 |
Northeastern State |
5-21 |
|
|
2010-11 |
Northeastern State |
9-17 |
|
|
2009-10 |
Northeastern State |
20-9 |
|
|
2008-09 |
Northeastern State |
11-16 |
|
|
2007-08 |
Northeastern State |
14-14 |
|
|
2006-07 |
Northeastern State |
10-16 |
|
|
2005-06 |
Northeastern State |
14-13 |
|
|
2004-05 |
Northeastern State |
8-19 |
|
|
2003-04 |
Northeastern State |
19-11 |
|
|
2002-03 |
Northeastern State |
32-3 |
NCAA Champions |
|
2001-02 |
Northeastern State |
28-2 |
NCAA Second Round |
|
2000-01 |
Northeastern State |
23-6 |
NCAA Second Round |
|
1999-00 |
Northeastern State |
24-6 |
NCAA Second Round |
|
1998-99 |
Northeastern State |
16-11 |
|
|
1997-98* |
Northeastern State |
12-15 |
|
|
1995-96 |
Toledo |
18-14 |
|
|
1994-95 |
Toledo |
16-11 |
|
|
1993-94 |
Toledo |
15-12 |
|
|
1992-93 |
Toledo |
12-16 |
|
|
1991-92 |
Toledo |
7-20 |
|
Lone Star Conference Championships
Year Type
2004 North Division Champions
2003 North Division Champions
2002 North Division Champions
2001 North Division Champions
2000 North Division Champions
1999 North Division Champions
Gipson’s Career Records entering 2013-14
|
|
Record |
Percentage |
|
at NSU |
264-188 (16 years) |
.584 |
|
at Toledo |
68-73 (5 years) |
.482 |
|
at NEO |
217-87 (9 years) |
.714 |
|
|
|
|
|
NCAA |
320-246 (20 years) |
.565 |
|
NAIA |
229-102 (10 years) |
.692 |
|
All-Time |
549-348 (30 years) |
.612 |
