Gaines Named LISD Athletics Director

(Lubbock)- The Lubbock Independent School District named Gary Gaines as the new Executive Director of Athletics for the district. Gaines, currently the athletic director for Ector County ISD, has 36 years of coaching experience at the high school and collegiate levels. Gaines returns to Lubbock having been an assistant football coach at Texas Tech University from 1990-1994. He was the head football coach at Abilene Christian University from 2000-2004. Gaines has been the AD in Odessa for the past two years. "I am sad to see Coach Gaines leave us," said Ector County Superintendent of Schools Wendell Sollis. "I enjoyed working with such a quality person. He has done a great job hiring coaches and building our entire athletic department. We wish him all the best; we will definitely miss him." Familiar with the Panhandle and South Plains, Gaines has also been the head coach at schools in Amarillo, San Angelo and Abilene. Gaines and his wife, Sharon, have two children and five grandchildren. "Sharon and I are excited about the opportunities and challenges that await us in Lubbock. At the same time we are sad to leave some great friends both inside and outside the school district in Odessa," Gaines commented. Gaines begins with LISD next week. He will take the reins from current Athletic Director Ines Perez who is retiring.