Garner elected to
NAIA Hall of Fame

The NAIA Hall of Fame inducted former Lyon College head basketball coach and athletic director Terry Garner into its Meritorious Service Category in a ceremony at the national convention on Monday, April 14, in Louisville, Ky.

From 1980-1995 Garner served as head men’s basketball coach at Lyon and from 1986 to 2007 he was the school’s director of athletics. Garner stepped down as Lyon’s director of athletics June 30, to be closer to his family in Little Rock and to pursue other professional opportunities.

“For more than a quarter century, Coach Garner has provided a strong hand at the tiller,” said Lyon College President Walter B. Roettger. “He has also provided a generous perspective of the role of athletics at a strong liberal arts college and strong leadership for our athletic programs. He is widely respected by campus and community and I am pleased to learn of his election to the Hall of Fame. It is very well deserved.”

Over his illustrious career, Garner has earned numerous honors and recognitions for his work at Lyon, including TranSouth Athletic Director of the Year, NAIA District 17 Coach of the Year, NAIA Area V National Coach of the Year and AIC Coach of the Year. The former coach and athletic director has also been named to the athletic halls of fame at both the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Lyon College.

“These recognitions not only reflect Coach Garner’s coaching and administrative skills,” said Roettger, “but also the respect that he commands from his fellow coaches and athletic directors.”

At Lyon, Garner took a leadership role in the construction of Scots Baseball Field, the Kelley Complex and Huser Soccer Field, and witnessed the student athlete population grow from just 35 student athletes to more than 170. He has also overseen the addition of men’s and women’s soccer, women’s golf and women’s fast-pitch softball programs as well as the restart of baseball, men’s and women’s cross country, men’s and women’s tennis and women’s volleyball.

“Coach Garner has overseen the growth of our varsity, physical education and intramural programs,” said Roettger, “and the creation and maintenance of new programs knitting them nicely into the fabric of the existing team sports.”