Gary Gaines
Gary Gaines played wingback for the Rams football team from 1967-70 and won the Nathan’s Award as “most valuable football player” as a senior. He embarked on a successful 38-year career as a high school and college football coach, most famously at Odessa Permian High School, where his Panthers team won the 1989 Texas 5A State Championship and was named ESPN’s National Champion. At Texas Tech University, he recruited and coached NFL star Zach Thomas and All-American Lloyd Hill. In 2000-04, Gaines was the head coach at Abilene Christian University, winning a Lone Star Conference South Division Championship in 2002. He also was athletic director for four years in Odessa and Lubbock. Following his retirement, he was named to the Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor in 2013.
Chris Mason
Chris Mason played basketball at Angelo State from 1985-89 and lettered all four seasons. He ranks third in the ASU record book for career points with 1,356 and led the Rams to Lone Star Conference Championships in 1988 and 1989. He also ranks third in Rams basketball history for field goals made (498) and fourth in free throws made (310). During the 1987-88 season, he averaged 14.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game as he teamed with ASU’s all-time leading scorer, Tim Howard, to lead the Rams to their first-ever LSC Championship. After college, Mason began a successful coaching career, becoming the youngest 5A high school basketball coach in Texas in 1997. He coached previously at La Porte High School and is currently the head coach at Texas City High School.
Jim McAnally
Jim McAnally attended Angelo State University and played golf from 1970-74. In his four years at ASU, he helped lead the Rams to three Lone Star Conference Golf Championships. He also qualified and played as an individual in four National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) national tournaments. As a sophomore in 1972, he won the NAIA National Championship men’s golf title in Roswell, N.M., with a total score of 283. For his efforts, he was named an All-American. After graduating from ASU, he went on to open his own State Farm Insurance firm in his hometown of Coleman, Texas.
Eric Cole
Eric Cole competed in track and field from 1990-93 and lettered all four years. He won individual NCAA Division II national titles in the discus in 1991 and the hammer throw in 1993. Overall, he was a six-time All-American and helped lead the Rams track and field team to three straight Lone Star Conference Championships in 1990 92. He also won individual LSC titles in both the hammer and discus every year from 1990-93. After earning his bachelor’s degree, he was a graduate assistant coach for the ASU track and field program. In 2009, he was inducted into the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association D-II Hall Of Fame. Cole continues to compete successfully in masters-level track and field competitions.
Dorothy May Ortiz
Dorothy May Ortiz played soccer at Angelo State from 1998-2001 and lettered all four seasons. As a freshman, she scored an ASU single-season record 22 goals, a record that stands to this day. She also holds the ASU career record for goals with 50, and she recorded 112 total points. During her career, she helped lead the Rambelles to their first Lone Star Conference Tournament, was a three-time All-LSC selection, and was named an Academic All- American in 1999. After graduating in 2003, Ortiz attended Officer Candidate School and served in the United States Marine Corps. Following her military service, she went on to become a very successful high school coach with stops at Keller Fossil Ridge High School, Bay City High School and Conroe Oak Ridge High School.
Mickey Long
Mickey Long played football at Angelo State from 1972-76. After graduating, he coached for a while before starting a highly successful career in the petroleum well servicing industry. He has remained a tremendous supporter of his alma mater, particularly the Athletics Department, and has been instrumental in accomplishing numerous athletics initiatives and projects. He is also a member of the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents, serving as chairman from 2013-16, and a member of ASU’s Carr Scholarship Foundation Board of Trustees. Long’s love for Angelo State is as strong today as it was when he first graduated, and he continues to be personally involved in ASU’s commencement ceremonies each year. The ASU Alumni Association has named him a Distinguished Alumnus.
