Lonnie Porter, the "dean" of college basketball coaches in Colorado, has completed 29 years as Regis University men's head basketball coach. He is Colorado's winningest collegiate coach with a 467-336 (.581) career win-loss record.

Porter's success, however, is not been limited to the court. His players have also performed in the classroom as 94 percent (119-of-126) who finished their eligibility earned undergraduate degrees.

During Porter's tenure, the Rangers have won 20 games seven times. Four of Porter's 20-win seasons came in the 1990's, with the 1994-95 and 1995-96 teams posting back-to-back 25-5 records. Both teams won regular season conference championships and made appearances in the NCAA Division II Championships - the first back-to-back NCAA II Tournament qualifying teams in school history.

In 1996, Lonnie began the Lonnie Porter Leadership Academy at Regis University, an annual three-week academic summer program that provides at-risk youth from the Denver area the skills to stay in school, combat negative peer pressure, graduate from high school and attend college. In addition to his personal involvement in the Academy, Lonnie has also made a gift of $100,000 to help endow the project.

Porter earned both his Bachelor's Degree (1965, Physical Education) and Master's Degree (1966, Educational Administration) from Adams State College (ASC) in Alamosa, Colorado. A four-time NAIA First Team All-District VII honoree, Porter became just the second athlete in RMAC history to garner First Team All-Conference honors (1961-62 to 1964-65 seasons) during each of his four years of competition. He capped his collegiate career by being named and NAIA All-American his senior year.

Porter has received numerous honors from his alma mater through the years: he was named Outstanding Alumnus in 1983; he became one of two former ASC athletes to have their jersey number retired (#20); ASC honored Porter by starting a scholarship in his name; and, he was inducted into the Adams State College Athletic Hall of Fame in the fall of 2002. Porter also was inducted into the RMAC Hall of Fame in 2004 for his accomplishments as a player at Adams State.

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