Artis Gilmore Sr. is an American former professional basketball player who played in the American Basketball Association (ABA) and National Basketball Association (NBA). Gilmore was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on August 12, 2011.
Jerry Esther Tarkanian was an American basketball coach. He coached college basketball for 31 seasons over five decades at three schools. He spent the majority of his career coaching with the UNLV Runnin' Rebels, leading them four times to the Final Four of the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament, winning the national championship in 1990. Tarkanian revolutionized the college game at UNLV, utilizing a pressing defense to fuel its fast-paced offense. Overall, he won over 700 games in his college coaching career, only twice failing to win 20 games, while never having a losing season. Tarkanian was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013.
James H. Gardner was an American college basketball coach, known for his tenures as the head coach at Kansas State University and the University of Utah. He is a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
Gardner–Webb University is a private Christian liberal arts university in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. It was founded as Boiling Springs High School in 1905. Gardner–Webb is a classified among "Doctoral/Professional Universities".
William Lawrence Gardner was an American third baseman in Major League Baseball. From 1908 through 1924, Gardner played for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cleveland Indians. He was a four-time World Series champion.
Morris Daniel "Mo" McHone is an American former professional basketball coach. He was the head coach for the San Antonio Spurs of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 1983 and served as an assistant for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Los Angeles Clippers. McHone also coached in the Continental Basketball Association (CBA) and NBA Development League.
Vernon "Catfish" Smith was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, and military officer. A three-sport athlete at the University of Georgia, Smith was named to the 1931 College Football All-America Team as an end. After his playing days, he served as the co-head basketball coach at his alma mater during the 1937–38 season. Smith was also the head baseball coach at Georgia from 1934 to 1937 and at the University of South Carolina from 1938 to 1939 and again from 1946 to 1947. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1979.
The UNLV Runnin' Rebels are the men's basketball team that represent the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, in the Mountain West Conference of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); it plays at the Thomas & Mack Center on campus. As of 2023, UNLV has the seventh-highest winning percentage (.687) in Division I history. UNLV is 33–19 all-time in the NCAA tournament with a 63.5 winning percentage. In July 2008, ESPNU named the program the eighth most prestigious collegiate basketball program in the nation since the 1984–85 season.
Ronald George Adams is an American basketball coach who is an assistant coach for the Golden State Warriors of the National Basketball Association (NBA).
The Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs are the athletic teams that represent Gardner–Webb University, located in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. Gardner–Webb participates in 21 varsity sports at the NCAA Division I level. The school's programs are a part of the Big South Conference. Known as the Bulldogs going back to 1922, costumed mascots, registered athletic marks and Gardner-Webb University live mascots have all been featured.
Raffaello "Ralph" D. Vince was an American football player for the Cleveland Indians, Cleveland Bulldogs, and the Cleveland Panthers. He later coached at Baldwin–Wallace College and John Carroll University. Outspoken and inventive as a coach, he was the inventor of the face mask. The original he created is on display at the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. He was the first coach to put an armband of plays on his quarterbacks' wrists, now a common sight in football. He attended Washington & Jefferson College and played in the 1922 Rose Bowl. He is distinguished as being the first Italian to play in the National Football League (NFL).
The Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Gardner–Webb University in the U.S. state of North Carolina. The team competes in the Division I FCS and are members of the Big South–OVC Football Association. Gardner–Webb's first football team was fielded in 1970. The team plays its home games at the 9,000-seat Ernest W. Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. The Runnin' Bulldogs are coached by Cris Reisert.
Bruce Wallace "Scotty" Bierce was a professional American football player and coach. He played for the Akron Pros, Buffalo All-Americans, Cleveland Indians and Cleveland Bulldogs of the National Football League (NFL). Bierce won a league title in 1920 with the Pros and he won a second title in 1924 with the Bulldogs. Scotty also served as a player-coach for the Pros in 1925. He played college football at University of Akron.
The Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team is the men's college basketball team that represents Gardner–Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina, United States. The school's team competes in the Big South Conference. They made their first NCAA tournament in 2019 by winning their first Big South tournament.
Eddie Holbrook is an American former college men's basketball head coach. He is best known for his tenure at Gardner–Webb University between 1964 and 1978. He was hired to coach Gardner-Webb when he was just 24-years old, and during his 14-year career there he compiled an overall record of 344 wins to just 67 losses. Holbrook was the coach when the team transitioned from a junior college program to an NAIA school. In his first five years, Holbrook's teams won four conference titles, and two regional titles in 1968–'69 while earning an invitation to play in the National Junior College Athletic Association championship tournament in Hutchinson, Kansas. Eight of his players became All-Americans while five of them went onto careers in the National Basketball Association. In 1973–'74, Holbrook's Runnin' Bulldogs won 23 straight games before losing in the NAIA post-season tournament to West Georgia 116–101. to By the end of his time at Gardner–Webb he had led the Runnin' Bulldogs to seven 20-win seasons and an additional four 30-win seasons. Of his 14 teams, 12 finished the season with national top-10 rankings. In February 2015, the school renamed their home basketball court the "Eddie Holbrook Court." While coaching GW, Holbrook earned eight coach of the year honors, and her earned the reputation of creating players who embodied mental and physical fortitude. He took two of his teams to the NAIA National Post-Season Tournament including a final four appearance in 1972, and the 1971–'72 Runnin' Bulldogs averaged 104.3 points per game during that season. In 1976–'77 season, Holbrook's squad scored over 100 points eighteen times.
The 2019 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs football team represented Gardner–Webb University as a member of the Big South Conference during the 2019 NCAA Division I FCS football season. Led by Carroll McCray in his seventh and final season as head coach, the Runnin' Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 3–9 with a mark of 1–5 in conference play, placing in three-way tie for fifth place in the Big South. Gardner–Webb played home games at Ernest W. Spangler Stadium in Boiling Springs, North Carolina.
The Dancin' Bulldogs: A 16 Seed's Journey to the NCAA Tournament is a 2020 American feature-length sports documentary directed, written, and produced by Christian Jessup with co-writing by Thomas Manning and Eli Hardin as well as co-production by Manning and Brendan Boylan. The documentary depicts the 2018–19 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team, which won the Big South Conference tournament and earned a bid to the NCAA tournament.
Alexandria Patrice Simmons is an American basketball coach and former player who is currently the head women's basketball coach at the University of Memphis. From 2018 to 2023, she coached at Gardner–Webb University.
The 2022–23 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gardner–Webb University in the 2022–23 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Bulldogs, led by tenth-year head coach Tim Craft, played their home games at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, North Carolina as members of the Big South Conference.
The 2023–24 Gardner–Webb Runnin' Bulldogs men's basketball team represented Gardner–Webb University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Runnin' Bulldogs, led by 11th-year head coach Tim Craft, played their home games at Paul Porter Arena in Boiling Springs, North Carolina as members of the Big South Conference. They finished the season 17–16, 11–5 in Big South play to finish in third place. They defeated Presbyterian in the quarterfinals of the Big South tournament before losing to UNC Asheville.
