Gary Newsome is in his second year as Director of Athletics for Olivet Nazarene University.
Gary Newsome finished his ninth and final season as the head football coach at Olivet Nazarene University in 2008.
Since taking the reins in February of 2000, Coach Newsome's teams have brought three championships to Olivet and one NAIA playoff appearance.
Coach Newsome went 46-51 in regular season play over the past eight years.
The Newsome era started positively, as the coach led the Tigers to an 8-3 record and a NAIA National Playoff appearance in his first season at the helm.
Following two sub .500 seasons, Newsome led the Tigers to a 6-4 mark in 2003 and just their second ever Mid-States Football Association Midwest League Championship.
Newsome led the Tigers to a 24-14 victory over Northwestern College (Minn.) during the NCCAA Victory Bowl in 2004 and 24-13 in 2005 for another NCCAA Victory Bowl Championship.
Newsome came to Olivet after a very successful high school coaching career in southern Ohio.
As head coach at Paint Valley High School, he compiled an impressive .750 winning percentage while winning 85 games in 11 years. Two of his teams were undefeated, four were league champions and four were awarded trips to the Ohio High School Football Playoffs. He was also honored with two invitations to coach in Ohio's prestigious North-South All-Star game, which features the top 66 players in the state, many of whom played in the NFL.
Coach Newsome was inducted into the Paint Valley High School Athletic Hall of Fame in January of 2007.
Newsome graduated from Olivet in 1974 with a bachelor's degree in education and earned his master's degree from Chicago State University in 1982. He earned his high school and elementary school administrative certificates with additional course work at Miami University, University of Dayton and Xavier University.
While studying at Olivet, he participated in both basketball and baseball. He was a four year starter in baseball and was the team's MVP his senior year. Professionally, coach Newsome has spent 10 years in the classroom as well as 14 years as a public school administrator. Newsome has served as an elementary school principal, an assistant high school principal and a high school principal in Ohio's public school system.
Newsome came home to ONU to become the head baseball coach and to serve as the football team's defensive coordinator during the 1980 and 1981 school years. Newsome's 1981 baseball team won a then school record 21 baseball games and earned a trip to the NAIA District 20 Playoffs. For his team's accomplishments on the baseball field, he was named the NAIA District 20 Coach of the Year.
Coach Newsome's Olivet ties continue with his family. His wife, Victoria, is a 1974 Olivet graduate and works in the University's School of Graduate and Adult Studies. Their youngest daughter, Marie, earned two degrees at ONU, a bachelor's degree in 2004 and a master's degree in 2006. She is currently in the Peace Corp serving in The Gambia, West Africa. Their oldest daughter, Jillian, a 2000 Olivet grad and a four year cheerleader for the Tigers, is now working as a nurse at Provena St. Mary's Hospital in Kankakee. Their son, Christian, is a graduate of Liberty University, where he was the quarterback of the school's football team and is currently a senior associate pastor in Overland Park, Kansas.
Newsome also cherishes time with his five grandchildren: Christian, Isaiah, Kasey, Micah, and Leah.
The purple and gold run deep with the Newsomes, so it is no surprise that Coach Newsome wants nothing less than the best for the football program and the University.
"After eight years, I was pleased to of had the opportunity to lead the Tiger football program. Each year I challenged to prepare our team to play the best the NAIA has to offer and I challenged to lead this group of young men toward their degree. I wanted to be and I wanted our coaching staff to be outstanding Christian role models for our players. I wanted to them to see from us how to win and how to lose, how to care for one another and how to respect our foes. I wanted our young men to take hold of our mission statement and to truly believe in an education with a Christian purpose. I wanted them to continue to 'Press On' no matter what faces them. Above all, I wanted them to see Christ in everything we do."