The Columns of Coach Gary Edwards Family and Friends

Gary Edwards has coached on all three NCAA levels: Division I, Division II, and Division III. He has won over 540 career victories as a head coach on the collegiate level, and his teams have earned numerous championships and awards. The Virginia Beach, Virginia, native began his coaching career as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Virginia Wesleyan College. After earning his master's degree at Old Dominion University he moved to Hofstra University as an assistant coach. It was there he started writing weekly columns for the student newspaper. His first head coaching job was at Atlantic Christian College (now Barton College) in Wilson, North Carolina. The Bulldogs had suffered through 19 straight losing seasons, but after one rebuilding year Edwards led the Bulldogs to consecutive 25 win seasons and back-to-back appearances in the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City. His success in Wilson led to an offer to become the youngest Division I coach in the country at Baptist College (now Charleston Southern). Edwards won two Big South Conference Coach of the Year awards during his nine years there, and his Buccaneers won the 1995 Big South Championship. In 1996 Edwards moved to Indiana University of Pennsylvania and became one of the winningest Division II coaches in the country, His teams averaged over 20 wins a season for 10 years and advanced to the NCAA Final Four in 2002. The Indians (now Crimson Hawks) won Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference titles in 2000, 2002, and 2004, and Eastern Regional championships in 2000 and 2002. While in Pennsylvania, Edwards began writing a weekly column for the Indiana Gazette. He continued writing weekly columns for the Florence Morning News when he moved back to South Carolina to take over the coaching reigns at Francis Marion University. Edwards is married (Corinne) and has two adult children: Grady, an administrator with the Horry County School District, and Casey, an attorney in Charleston. He is also the proud Papa of Holly Golightly, and unemployed Yorkshire Terrier.