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C.E. Gaines Endowed Scholarship

Honor the Legacy. Support the Next Ram.

The C.E. “Big House” Gaines Endowed Scholarship supports WSSU basketball student-athletes who carry forward Coach Gaines’ standard of excellence in competition, in the classroom, and in life.

How to Give Meet the Current Recipient
Coach Clarence Big House Gaines with Winston-Salem State basketball players
828Career Wins
47Years Coaching
1967NCAA Championship
8CIAA Titles

Scholarship Impact

A giving path tied directly to student-athlete opportunity.

Coach Gaines believed athletics and academics belonged together. This endowed scholarship helps WSSU basketball student-athletes pursue their degrees while representing the Rams with discipline, leadership, and pride.

The C.E. Gaines Endowed Scholarship

Established to honor the extraordinary legacy of Coach Clarence “Big House” Gaines, the scholarship provides meaningful financial assistance to deserving WSSU men’s and women’s basketball student-athletes.

Continued donor support helps strengthen the endowment and ensures future Rams can carry forward a tradition shaped by excellence, integrity, and a commitment to earning a degree.

How to Give

  1. 1

    Open the secure WSSU giving form.

  2. 2

    Select C.E. Gaines Endowed Scholarship under “I want to support.”

  3. 3

    Choose a one-time gift or set up a recurring monthly contribution.

Give to the C.E. Gaines Scholarship

Questions about giving? Contact the WSSU Department of Athletics at (336) 750-2141.

Current Scholarship Recipient

Tyre Boykin

Men’s Basketball student-athlete and member of the Class of 2026.

SportMen’s Basketball
ClassClass of 2026
MajorInterdisciplinary Studies
HometownWhite Oak, NC

Past Recipients of the C.E. Gaines Scholarship
 

Year Name Men or Women's Basketball
2009 Brian Fisher Men's Basketball
Quintoya Mobley Women's Basketball
2009-10 Malisa Bumpus Women's Basketball
Scarborough Monger Men's Basketball
2010-11 Paul Davis Men's Basketball
Vontisha Woods Women's Basketball
2011-12 Courtney Medley Women's Basketball
2012-13 Schatavia Gray Women's Basketball
Kimani Hunt Men's Basketball
2013-14 Preston Ross, III Men's Basketball
Jovanah Graham Women's Basketball
2014-15 Jovanah Graham Women's Basketball
Kerry Campbell Men's Basketball
2015-16 Dedric Byrd Men's Basketball
Briana Arnold Women's Basketball
2016-17 William Crandell Men's Basketball
Kandace Tate Women's Basketball
2022-23 Taniah Wilkins Women's Basketball
2023-24 Taniah Wilkins Women's Basketball
Christiana McLean Women's Basketball
Lance Gill Men's Basketball
Jainaya Jones Women's Basketball
2024-25 Lance Gill Men's Basketball
2025-26 Tyre Boykin Men's Basketball

The Story Arc

More than a win-loss record.

Coach Gaines’ legacy is measured in championships, Hall of Fame honors, and career wins, but the deeper story is the people he shaped and the standard he set for Winston-Salem State.

The name that became legend.

Clarence Edward Gaines became known as "Big House" in 1941 when he arrived on Morgan State's campus and James "Stump" Carter, Morgan State's business manager, saw him for the first time: Carter "stopped in mid-stride, looked me up and down, whistled, and said, loud enough for several people to hear, 'Man! The only thing I've ever seen bigger than you is a house'" Source: "They Call Me Big House" - page 46. 

828 victories, one home.

When Coach Gaines retired from Winston-Salem State in 1993, he was the winningest active basketball coach in NCAA history. His Rams won the 1967 NCAA Division II Championship, making WSSU the first HBCU to capture an NCAA national championship.

Coach Gaines was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 and coached future legends including Earl “The Pearl” Monroe and Cleo Hill.

“His basketball record is probably just a paragraph compared to all the other things he accomplished.”
Legacy reflection on Coach Gaines

Video Legacy

C. E. "Big House" Gaines

Big House, The Pearl, and The Triumph of Winston-Salem State

The story of the 1966–67 WSSU Rams’ historic 31-1 season and NCAA Championship under Coach Gaines.

Coach Gaines’ “Bump” Philosophy

A short feature on Coach Gaines’ teaching style, standards, and approach to developing young people.

They Call Him Big House

The official WSSU tribute documentary celebrating Coach Gaines’ life and legacy.

Keep Coach Gaines’ standard moving forward.

A gift to the C.E. Gaines Endowed Scholarship helps today’s Rams pursue their education while carrying forward one of the most important legacies in HBCU athletics.

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