Gary Lowery is in his third season as an assistant coach with the Hampton University football program, having joined head coach Connell Maynor’s staff after several coaching stops at various levels in North Carolina. For the Pirates, Lowery will be in charge of the running backs, on top of his recruiting roles and the day-to-day operations of the program.
He also serves as the program’s pro liaison.
In 2015, running back Christopher Dukes was a Third Team All-MEAC selection after leading the Pirates with 691 rushing yards – an average of almost 63 a game. Dukes’ best game of the season came against Florida A&M, when he rushed for 95 yards on 12 carries.
In that same game, Dwayne Garrett rushed for a career-high 147 yards and a touchdown.
In his first season with the Pirates, Lowery coached on the defensive side of the ball, overseeing the defensive line – a group that included Third Team All-MEAC selection Miles Grooms, who had 52 total tackles and five sacks last season. Lowery also coached linebacker Joshua Thorne, who led the MEAC with 113 tackles.
Prior to coming to Hampton, Lowery spent three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Terry Sanford High School in Fayetteville, N.C. There, he also served as defensive line coach and linebackers coach. His tenure at Terry Sanford came after a brief stint at Winston-Salem State, where he was defensive line coach in the spring of 2011.
From 2008-11, Lowery was at Fayetteville State; he was an offensive line coach for the Broncos; while there, he helped develop junior center Dillon Kestner into a two-time second-team All-CIAA selection in his first two seasons at Fayetteville State.
A 6-foot-2, 260-pound native of Durham, N.C., Kestner had been voted CIAA Offensive Lineman of the Week three times. In addition to Kestner, Lowery guided Cedric Willis to a selection to the 2008 All-CIAA second team. Also, sophomore guard Larry McDonald was named to the All-CIAA Rookie team in 2008.
Despite injuries to multiple starters during the 2009 season, Lowery coached an offensive line that showed steady progress throughout the season. Lowery was also the strength and conditioning coach during his tenure with the Broncos.
Prior to coming to Fayetteville State, Lowery spent three years at Jack Britt High School in Fayetteville, N.C. as linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator.
During his tenure with the Buccaneers, Lowery, who received a B.S. in sociology from Union College in 1998, coached 13 players that signed scholarships with Division I schools included in that list was Xavier Nixon, a starting offensive tackle at the University of Florida who was ranked the No. 1 offensive lineman in the country by Rivals.com.
As a player at Union, Lowery was a three-year starter on the offensive line and three-time all-conference selection. Lowery also coached offensive and defensive lines at Union after graduation.
Lowery obtained a Masters degree in Educational Leadership in 2007 from Union, a Masters in Sports Management from American Military in 2008.
