Haskell Softball Coaches

 

Coach Gary Tanner, a Cherokee, first came to Haskell Junior College from Jay, Oklahoma in the fall of 1976 to play football and wrestle for the Fightin’ Indians. After Two Seasons he transferred and played football for Northeastern Oklahoma State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma where he earned a Bachelors Degree in Education. During that time he was on a team that was the runner up for the national Championship in 1980. Coach Tanner returned to Haskell in 1985 as an assistant in the football program. He moved into the Head Football Coaching position in 1987 and served that role for 14 years until 2001. During his tenure as the Head Football Coach, Coach Tanner was in the forefront of helping bring about the entrance of the athletic program into the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics. Coach Tanner now serves as the Head Women's Fast pitch Softball Coach for the “Fightin’ Indians”, a role he has held since starting the program in 1998. Coach Tanner is married to Janie (who serves as the chaperone on overnight trips for the fightin’ Indians) and they are the parents of three children, Brady (Ballboy for the Fighting’ Indians Football Team), Jamie (Senior on the Haskell Fast pitch Softball Team) and Jennifer ( junior at Lawrence High School), and the grandparent to Chilali, the latest edition to the Tanner family. Coach Tanner earned his Masters degree from the University of Kansas in 1999 and is currently the Chair of the Health, Physical Education and Recreation Department. Coach Tanner enjoys auctions, outdoor sports, and coaching the Phoenix T’s when he is not engaged in Haskell athletics.