Gardner-Webb President Dr. William M. Downs Names Jeremy Luther Head Men’s Basketball Coach

Coach Luther Emerged as the Top Choice for his Experience, Passion and Vision for the Program’s Future

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C.—After a national search process, Gardner-Webb President Dr. William M. Downs has named one of its own, GWU Associate Coach Jeremy Luther as the head coach of the men’s basketball program. In his 11 seasons at GWU, Luther contributed a wealth of knowledge and played a vital part of the program’s 188 wins. Luther also helped lead the program to its first NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament in 2018-2019.

The public is invited to the formal announcement and opportunity to meet and great Luther today (March 27) at 1 p.m. in Faith Hall, Tucker Student Center.

“I couldn’t be happier to have Jeremy Luther take the helm as head men’s basketball coach at Gardner-Webb,” shared Downs. “Coach Luther emerged as the top choice from a national pool of truly outstanding applicants, and he earned the job by conveying his passion for our school, by authentically articulating his hunger for taking our program to the next level, and by mapping out his plan for developing student-athletes into great men. Jeremy Luther will be relentless, and he will do it the right way. That combination, I firmly believe, will lead to championship basketball and a very proud Runnin’ Bulldog Nation. Let the new era begin!”

Luther’s recruiting efforts have helped Gardner-Webb stock one of the best young teams in the Southeast. His expertise contributing to setting records and earning milestones, such as setting a new conference record of 10 seasons of 10-plus Big South wins and defeating six Power 5 schools.

“Championship level culture is only possible when your organization has complete alignment of mission, vision, and values,” asserted Vice President and Director of Athletics Dr. Andrew T. Goodrich. “Throughout the process, Coach Luther not only demonstrated that he knew how to create this alignment, but also was able to articulate clearly the strategy his staff will use to build a championship level program that helps our young men learn how to succeed in the classroom, in the community, and on the court for a lifetime.”

The new coach is excited to take the helm of the men’s basketball program. “I am very thankful and grateful to Dr. Downs and Dr. Goodrich for their belief in me and trust in me in leading this program going forward,” Luther affirmed. “I also want to say thank you to Tim Craft for calling me 11 years ago to come to Gardner-Webb to be his assistant coach. My family and I couldn’t be more happy and more excited about the future of GWU men’s basketball. I look forward to taking steps to move this program to the next level.”

Luther is a Tallahassee, Fla., native with 23 seasons of experience on the college sidelines, including six seasons as a head coach at a pair of NCAA Division II programs. He forged an 82-80 overall record in those two head coaching stops. Luther spent 2007-2009 rebuilding a Newberry program that had not won more than 12 games in a season since 2003-2004. In just his second season at the school, Luther led the Wolves to a record-setting campaign, posting a 21-8 overall record and a second-place finish in the South Atlantic Conference. The overall and league win total (10-6) both established new school records for Newberry.

Luther directed Armstrong Atlantic to a pair of winning campaigns during his time in Savannah, Ga., including a 15-12 mark in 2012-2013. Senior guard Aric Miller was named NABC Division II All-American and Daktronics/CoSIDA All-Southeast Region after leading the Peach Belt in scoring at 23.7 points per game.

The Pirates won 11 games in the ultra-competitive Peach Belt Conference. The 2012-2013 season also included a win over No. 20 St. Leo (Fla.) in November.

Luther spent 2001-2007 as an assistant coach at Mercer, helping the Bears to an Atlantic Sun Conference regular season title in 2002-2003.

Mercer finished that season with a 23-6 record, the most wins in school history at that time and the first winning season at the school since 1996. The season also marked the Bears’ first season with more than 15 wins since 1985-1986 and included an impressive 14-2 mark in the Atlantic Sun Conference. During Luther’s time in Macon, Ga., 10 Bears student-athletes went on to play professionally.

Luther started his playing career in 1992-93 at Robert Morris (Pittsburgh, Pa.) before playing two seasons at Liberty (Lynchburg, Va.) and Covenant College (Lookout Mountain, Ga.) In his final two seasons at Covenant, Luther netted 1,300 points. He was named to the NAIA Division II All-America team following his senior season, when he pumped in 26.0 points per game.

Luther graduated from North Greenville (Tigerville, S.C.) in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in English. He and his wife, Ginny, have three children — Bryson, Kendall and August.

Gardner-Webb University is North Carolina’s recognized leader in private, Christian higher education. A Carnegie-Classified Doctoral/Professional University, GWU is home to nine colleges and schools, more than 80 undergraduate and graduate majors, and a world-class faculty. Located on a beautiful 225-acre campus in Boiling Springs, N.C., Gardner-Webb prepares graduates to impact their chosen professions, equips them with the skills to advance the frontiers of knowledge, and inspires them to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of others. Ignite your future at Gardner-Webb.edu.