Gene Bess

Men's Basketball Coach (1971-2020)

Gene Bess began his career at Three Rivers in 1970 as an assistant basketball coach and was named head coach in 1971. He retired following the 2020 season at the age of 85 with a career record of 1300-416 (.757 winning percentage), making him the all-time winningest college basketball coach of all time.

Bess won two national junior college championships, in 1979 and 1992. He led the Raiders to 17 NJCAA tournament appearances and reached the final four nine times. He was recognized as NJCAA Coach of the Year twice, Regional Coach of the Year 23 times, and MCCAC Conference Coach of the Year 19 times.

He was inducted into the Poplar Bluff Sports Hall of Fame in 1983, the Missouri Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1988, the NJCAA Hall of Fame in 1989, and the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2006. In February 2023, Three Rivers unveiled a Gene Bess statue in front of the Libla Family Sports Complex. He was elected to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as part of the Class of 2023.