View source for Gary Colson

{{Short description|American basketball coach and executive (1934–2023)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox college coach
| name = Gary Colson
| image = 
| alt = 
| caption = 
| birth_date = {{birth date|1934|4|30}}
| birth_place = [[Logansport, Indiana]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2023|11|3|1934|4|30}}
| death_place = [[Santa Barbara, California]], U.S.
| alma_mater = 
| player_years1 = 1953–1956
| player_team1 = [[Lipscomb Bisons men's basketball|David Lipscomb]]
| player_positions = 
| coach_years1 = 1958–1968
| coach_team1 = [[Valdosta State Blazers men's basketball|Valdosta State]]
| coach_years2 = 1968–1979
| coach_team2 = [[Pepperdine Waves men's basketball|Pepperdine]]
| coach_years3 = 1980–1988
| coach_team3 = [[New Mexico Lobos men's basketball|New Mexico]]
| coach_years4 = 1990–1995
| coach_team4 = [[Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball|Fresno State]]
| overall_record = 
| bowl_record = 
| tournament_record = 
| championships = [[West Coast Conference|WCAC]] regular season (1976)
| awards = WCAC Coach of the Year (1976)<br>[[Western Athletic Conference|WAC]] Coach of the Year (1984)
| coaching_records = 
}}

'''Gary Colson''' (April 30, 1934 – November 3, 2023) was an American basketball coach and executive. The [[Logansport, Indiana]], native guided several college men's basketball teams, including [[Valdosta State University]], [[Pepperdine University]], [[University of New Mexico]] and [[California State University, Fresno]]. He compiled a 563–385 (.594) record over 34 seasons of coaching between 1959 and 1995. In 2002, he joined the [[Memphis Grizzlies]]' front office as Assistant to the President of Basketball Operations.<ref>[http://www.nba.com/grizzlies/news/colson_02.html Gary Colson Appointed as Assistant to the President].</ref> In his later years, Coach Colson was a basketball instructor at the [[University of California, Santa Barbara]]. Coach Colson earned his bachelor's degree in health and physical education from David Lipscomb College (now [[Lipscomb University]]) in 1956. He was inducted into the Lipscomb Athletics Hall of Fame in 1998 in the "Athlete" category.

Colson died from lymphoma in [[Santa Barbara, California]], on November 3, 2023, at the age of 89.<ref>[https://apnews.com/article/gary-colson-dies-college-basketball-3point-shot-a5e1f5579105071b743a2ce00d2c9a87 Gary Colson, who lobbied to add the 3-point shot during a basketball coaching career, dies at 89]</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{navboxes|list=
{{Pepperdine Waves men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{New Mexico Lobos men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball coach navbox}}
{{West Coast Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
{{Western Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year navbox}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Colson, Gary}}
[[Category:1934 births]]
[[Category:2023 deaths]]
[[Category:American men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Basketball coaches from Indiana]]
[[Category:College men's basketball head coaches in the United States]]
[[Category:Fresno State Bulldogs men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Lipscomb Bisons baseball players]]
[[Category:Lipscomb Bisons men's basketball players]]
[[Category:Memphis Grizzlies executives]]
[[Category:New Mexico Lobos men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:People from Logansport, Indiana]]
[[Category:Pepperdine Waves men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Valdosta State Blazers men's basketball coaches]]
[[Category:Deaths from lymphoma in California]]
[[Category:20th-century American sportsmen]]


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