BOBBY ARDOIN
JASON PUGHNSU Sports Information Director
NATCHITOCHES – The Northwestern State Athletic Department named Missouri State associate head coach Corey Gipson the 10th men’s basketball coach in school history Monday afternoon. Gipson, 41, spent seven years on the Bears’ staff, burnishing a reputation as a standout recruiter and talent developer. His hiring is subject to the approval of the Board of Supervisors of the University of Louisiana System, which governs Northwestern State University. Gipson succeeds Mike McConathy, who retired a week ago after 23 years as the Demon head coach and Louisiana’s all-time leader in basketball coaching victories. Gipson will be introduced to the media and NSU supporters at 10 a.m. Wednesday at a news conference in the Lucille Mertz Hendrick Room (Room 121) inside the Friedman Student Union on the Northwestern State campus. “This is very humbling, first and foremost, to be able to take the helm of a program with so much history and tradition,” said Gipson, who becomes the first African-American head coach in program history. “My family and I are elated to be going to a historic community and a program where coach McConathy has built such a great legacy. He paved the way for me and my family to come in and have a chance to push that legacy forward. It is an opportunity we do not take lightly. We see it as a privilege.
During his seven-year stint at Missouri State, Gipson coached a trio of Missouri Valley Conference Newcomers of the Year – Tulio Da Silva, Dequon Miler and Alize Johnson. A fast riser in the coaching ranks, Gipson was named Missouri State’s associate head coach June 2, 2016, 11 months after joining the Bears staff following a three-year stint at his alma mater, Austin Peay. During Gipson’s six years as the Bears’ associate head coach, Missouri State averaged 17.6 wins per season. The Bears recently finished the 2021-22 season with a 23-11 record and a berth in the National Invitational Tournament. Gipson’s success at each of his coaching stops was important, but it was simply part of the package that landed him his first head coaching position. “As we went through the search process, it was clear Corey possessed all the qualities we desired in a coach,” Bostian said. “We look forward to him building upon the great legacy coach McConathy built here at Northwestern State. Corey has been successful at every stop in his career. He is a strong coach and recruiter, but more importantly, he has a track record of developing student-athletes into better young men on and away from the game of basketball.”
