Vince Gibson

Vince Gibson (born March 27, 1933, in Birmingham) was the head football coach at Kansas State University from 1967 to 1974, at the University of Louisville from 1975 to 1979, and at Tulane University from 1980 to 1982.

Gibson was a 1951 graduate of Woodlawn High School and went on to attend Howard College for two years before transferring to Florida State University. He played offensive guard and linebacker and was named national lineman of the week for his performance against Miami in 1955.

After graduating he became an assistant football coach at South Georgia, then returned to the Florida State staff, and from there to the University of Tennessee as defensive coordinator. In 1967 he was named head football coach for Kansas State University, which was enduring a 23-game losing streak. The sole victory in his first season was against Nebraska, whom the Wildcats had not beaten in 35 years. Two years later, Kansas State broke into the top 10 for part of the season and finished second in the Big 8 Conference. He was named the conference's Coach of the Year for that season.

In 1975 Gibson took over the Louisville Cardinals team and showed similar improvement over three seasons, taking them to the Independence Bowl in 1977, where they lost 24-14 to Louisiana Tech. He left Louisville for New Orleans in 1980 and helped the Tulane Green Wave beat arch-rival LSU twice in three seasons and also led them to a rare bowl appearance at the Hall of Fame Classic in Legion Field. The Wave was defeated by Arkansas 34-15 in that game. He retired from coaching after the 1982 season and is currently in private business in New Orleans.

Gibson's overall head coaching record stands at 75-98-2. He was inducted into the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame in 2004

External links

• Vince Gibson bio at the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame