CONWAY, S.C. -- Coastal Carolina University head baseball coach Gary Gilmore is receiving a new contract, CCU Athletics Director Warren "Moose" Koegel announced today (July 21). The new contract is four years with a rollover and will include an incentive plan starting with the 2005-06 season.

Gilmore earned Big South Conference Coach of the Year honors in 2005, garnering the award for the third time in his career. He was also voted by his fellow coaches as the American Baseball Coaches Association Atlantic Region Division I Coach of the Year, an award he will be presented with at the ABCA banquet in January 2006. He guided the Chanticleers to a 50-16 overall record and a 21-3 Big South record, winning the regular season championship for the ninth time in school history. In the 2005 regular season, Gilmore’s squad won all eight Big South series and defeated four nationally-ranked teams (Clemson, College of Charleston, Georgia Tech and North Carolina). Gilmore previously earned Coach of the Year honors in 1999 and 2002.

The Chants were named the No. 1 seed in the NCAA's Tempe Regional, the first ever No.1 national seed in the history of the Big South Conference. CCU advanced to the championship game against host Arizona State, an eventual College World Series participant. Coastal's 50 wins set a new school record for wins in a single season, while individually, the squad had one First Team All-American (Mike Costanzo), six Major League Baseball draft selections and six All-Big South honorees.

In his 10 seasons as head coach at Coastal Carolina, Gilmore has seen the program continually rise in the world of college baseball to a national power, amassing a record of 377-223 (.628). The Chants have had five straight NCAA berths, six 40+ win seasons in the last seven years, numerous Major League Baseball draft picks. Gilmore’s ball clubs have finished in the top four of the Big South Conference standings nine times, including regular season titles in 1999, 2002 and 2005. He has coached 47 All-Big South Conference players and four Big South Players of the Year. Former Chanticleer Ryan McGraw also broke the NCAA single-season stolen base mark with 63 in 2002. In his 16 seasons as a college head coach, Gilmore’s teams have averaged almost 40 wins a year, including 10 seasons of 40 wins or more. He ranks among the top 20 winningest active coaches by percentage (639-325, .663) in Division I.

Along with the improvements Gilmore has overseen on the field, he is also a main contributor to the improvements off the field. The Chanticleers have had a team GPA over 3.0 in each of the last four seasons, including a 3.07 team grade-point-average in the fall of 2003 which included four 4.0 GPA’s. What’s more, Coastal’s facilities have made tremendous strides under Coach Gilmore, with numerous renovations to the stadium including a new fence, new scoreboard, new sound system and new infield turf. In 2005, new lights were installed as CCU's Charles Watson Stadium/Vrooman Field hosted the 2005 Big South Tournament.

Gilmore began his baseball career as a Chanticleer, playing center field for Coastal during the 1979 and 1980 seasons. The speedy leadoff hitter hit .353 with 69 steals in 90 games, before going to play in the Philadelphia Phillies organization. Following his playing days, he worked as a scout for the Seattle Mariners and Cleveland Indians before becoming a coach at USC-Aiken, where he eventually took over the top spot in 1990.

Coastal Carolina University President Ronald R. Ingle Comments

Coastal Carolina University is place of remarkable commitment – from students who work hard to earn their degrees, to faculty who guide and inspire in the classroom, and to coaches who work tirelessly to build and reward character and performance in their student-athletes.

Coastal Carolina University has made monumental strides in recent years in raising the caliber and success of student-athletes’ performance – both in the classroom and on each and every playing field. The phrases "NCAA championships," "All-American" and "Academic All-American," "nationally-ranked," and "number one seed" are no longer distant dreams for us, but have become real to the more than 440 student-athletes and their coaches who call themselves Chanticleers, and to thousands of students, alumni, friends and fans.

And many of those accolades have been bestowed upon our superb baseball program led by Coastal alumnus Gary Gilmore. Gary’s recent selection as Atlantic Region Division I Coach of the Year is a prestigious testament to the fine year Gary, his staff, and players have experienced. I am pleased that the commitment Coach Gilmore has made to this university – and the university to Coach Gilmore – is reflected in the contract announced today.

I know you all join me in celebrating the many accomplishments of the Chanticleer baseball program and the brilliant future that lies ahead with Gary Gilmore leading the team.

Head Coach Gary Gilmore

This is a dream come true for me. I said that when I was fortunate enough to become the head coach of the program 10 years ago. Having played here, there is a special tie here between myself and this university and I hope that we can be successful enough over the next 10 years that the University will keep me on as their baseball coach. I am very committed to that. The agreement we signed, if we do what we agreed on, will make that a reality for me and that is very important to both me and my family.

I am getting a lot of credit for our program, but I am simply one piece of the puzzle. I have wonderful assistants, including our former pitching coach who just left to take over his own program and I am very proud of that. My assistants remaining, Kevin Schnall and Clint Ayers, are outstanding and key to our success and we are looking to fill that pitching coach slot now with someone who will also be vital to our success. But this is about everyone, from Dr. Ingle to Warren Koegel to the department secretaries to everyone who helps our program here in the department, as well as our supporters on the outside.

I was told by the previous athletic director five or six years ago that, to have the success we have had here, I would have to leave here to do those things. But this moment is as proud a moment as I have ever had. I wish my father could be here to be a part of this. He is very instrumental in my life and things I have accomplished both in baseball and in life.