Thursday, August 27, 2015

Warren Named to Inaugural Hall of Fame Class at Itasca Community College





GRAND RAPIDS, Minn. - University of Minnesota Crookston Assistant Athletic Director for Facilities & Operations Gary Warren became part of the inaugural Itasca Community College Sports Hall of Fame class Thurs., Aug. 20, 2015. Warren was one of seven individuals and two teams who were honored by the college for their athletic excellence and their representation of Itasca Community College well after their athletic careers were completed.

Warren has been an Assistant Athletic Director at UMC for the past seven years, prior to that he was head men’s hockey coach for the Golden Eagles from 2001-09.

A native of Munger, Minn., Warren attended high school at Proctor H.S. prior to moving on to then Itasca State Junior college. At Proctor, Warren was named a 1971 Honor Athlete after serving as captain for three sports. At Itasca, he competed in both football and hockey. In 1971, he helped the football team to a North Division Runner-Up finish, playing both offense and defense. As a member of the hockey team, Warren helped lead the 1972 Viking squad to a Minnesota Junior College Athletic Association (MJCAA) State Hockey Championship manning the net as goalkeeper for the squad. The Vikings would go on to win the 1972 National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) National Hockey Championship. For his contributions in net, Warren earned NJCAA All-American honors in 1972. He also earned All0-Tournament honors.

Warren would graduate from Itasca Junior College in 1973, later joining the Bemidji State hockey program and also having a stint with the BSU football team before graduating from the University of Minnesota Duluth in 1977.

After his very successful playing career, Warren would go on to a highly illustrious coaching career. He would get his start in the high school ranks coaching in Eveleth, Minn., Minot, N.D. and Austin, Minn. before getting his first collegiate coaching job at the United States Air Force Academy, where he would serve as assistant coach from 1980-83.

Warren would earn his first head coaching job in 1984, taking over at Dakota College at Bottineau, which was then North Dakota State University-Bottineau and would also be known as Minot State University-Bottineau before becoming Dakota College at Bottineau. Warren would mold the Lumberjacks into a nationally respected powerhouse, coaching the school to three NJCAA National Championships in 1986, 1991 and 1998. His squads would also with nine North Central Region XIII titles. Warren would earned ten Coach of the Year accolades while in Bottineau. During his time in Bottineau, he also served as President of the National Junior College Hockey Coaches Association and produced a North Dakota Colleeg Athlete of the Year and a two-time National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Champion in Dustin Penner, who earned the Cup with the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings and played 11 seasons in the league. At Bottineau, he would coach many NJCAA All-Americans. Warren entered the North Dakota Hall of Honor in 1998.

He would take over the Golden Eagle hockey program in 2001, where he led the team to two Midwest Collegiate Hockey Association Championships. He was a finalist for the NCAA Division III Eddie Jeremiah Award for coaching in 2003 and 2005. Warren would conclude his hockey career in 2009, earning 11 Coach of the Year honors and achieving 437 career wins.

In his role as Assistant Athletic Director, Warren has been an integral part of the department, heading up the games management for all 11 intercollegiate athletic programs at the school.

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