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
Open the secure WSSU giving form.
2
Select C.E. Gaines Endowed Scholarship under “I want to support.”
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

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.

Portrait of Coach Clarence Big House Gaines

The name that became legend

Clarence Edward Gaines became known as “Big House” after a college football teammate looked at his imposing frame and said, “Boy, I never seen anything bigger than you but a house.”

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

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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Winston-Salem State University

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