2017 Hall of Fame

Coaches

• Rob BowersRichmond/Cameron/Plattsburg

  A native of Hamilton Missouri he graduated from Penney High School before attending William Jewell College. He started his coaching career in 1980 as an assistant at Plattsburg before moving on to Sam Houston State where he was a graduate assistant. Bowers head coaching career started in 1984 at Work County followed by Albany and then to his first stint at Richmond starting at 1992. He was at Richmond for six years before going to Cameron for three seasons. He returned to Richmond in 2001 where he continues coaching today. Over his career his teams have won seven conference titles, nine district championships, advanced to the quarterfinals seven times, the semifinals three times and won the 2010 Missouri Class 3 state championship. Bowers has a career 197-145 record including a 114-64 mark at Richmond starting in 2001. He has also been named the Missouri football coaches association coach of the year, the KMZU coach of the year six times and is a member of the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

• Brad GainesOak Grove/Orrick

  A graduate of Orrick High School, Gaines returned to his alma mater after graduating from the University of Central Missouri in 1974 and was named head coach in his first year of teaching. He led Orrick to three conference titles, two semifinal appearances and a Missouri Class 1 state championship in 1975. In 1981 Gaines moved to Oak Grove as an assistant coach before being named the head coach in 1985. For more than two decades Gaines led the Panthers to seven conference titles, 10 district championships, three quarterfinal appearances, 3 semifinal appearances and two state championships games. After leaving Oak Grove he has served as an assistant coach at Avila University and currently at Raymore-Peculiar. Gaines has been named the Kansas City Chiefs Coach of the week four times and has been inducted into the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He has also had an outstanding career as a basketball coaching leading Oak Grove to the 1992 Missouri Class 3 girls state championship.

• Richard GleichmanSumner Academy

  The Kansas City, Kansas native graduated Washington High School. After graduating from the University of Kansas in 1971 he began his coaching and teaching career back in KCK at Argentine High School. Gleichman served as an assistant football coach at Argentine and then Harmon before moving to Sumner in 1980. After one year as an assistant coach at Sumner he was named the head coach. He held that position from 1981-2005. He then returned to the Sumner staff in 2007 serving as the defensive coordinator until 2013. His teams won two district titles and two conference championships during his time. Coach Gleichman led Sumner for 24 seasons and in that time 64 players received scholarships to play college football. He also coached in a Kansas Shrine Game, a Big Brothers/Big Sisters All-Star Game and a GKCFCA Kansas vs. Missouri all star game.

• Steve HarmsBlue Valley Northwest/Washington

  Harms was born in Hastings, Neb. where he graduated from Hastings High School before attending Hastings College where he graduated in 1978. He began his coaching career at West Junior High School in the Kansas City, Kansas school district coaching football, basketball and track. In 1981 he became a varsity assistant coach at Washington High School and then became the head coach in 1985. In 1993 he opened Blue Valley Northwest High School as the first head coach in school history. Harms held this position until 2001 when he became the Activities Director. During his career he earned a 73-50 record that included seven conference titles, six district titles and three regional titles. He was twice named the KCK coach of the year and twice named the EKL coach of the year. His teams were ranked in the top 5 in Kansas four times and in the top 10 of the Kansas City Metro four times. He is also a member of the Blue Valley Northwest Athletic Hall of Fame.

• Bruce JohnsonRaytown South

  Johnson came to Raytown South in 1961 after graduating from the University of Central Missouri. The Leavenworth native began his career as an assistant football and track coach before becoming the Cardinals head coach in 1974. Johnson was the head coach until 1991 leading Raytown South to a 100-86-1 record in that time. That included two state semifinals, three quarterfinals, five conference championships, four district championships and two undefeated regular seasons. He finished his coaching career in the college ranks serving as an assistant coach at Mid America Nazarene University from 1992-2005. Johnson won the Cecil Patterson coach year in 1980 and is a member of the Missouri Football Coaches Association Hall of Fame.

• Mark LittrellOlathe South/Leavenworth

  Littrell graduated from Smithville High School in 1971 before attending Truman State University where he graduated in 1976. His first coaching job was as an assistant at St. Joseph Benton High School where he coached football, wrestling and track. In 1982 Littrell moved across the state line to Olathe where he was named the head wrestling coach and was an assistant on the football team. Littrell took over the Falcons program in 1998 and led it to a 76-32 record. In that time the Falcons won four district titles, four regional championships, three sectional championships and was runner-up to the state champion three times. After returning to the Metro in 2013 Littrell took over the program at Leavenworth. In 2014 the Pioneers won the district and regional titles for the first time in school history. Littrell has been named a Chiefs coach of the week eight times, Chiefs coach of the year twice and the Sunflower League coach of the year once. He has also honored with the GKCFCA Dave Bassore Man of the Year Award in 2008 and 2014. The last 40 years has seen Littrell as a pillar of the coaching community. As one of the founding members of the GKCFCA he has been a member of the executive board and a past president. He has also coached in the Big Brothers/Big Sisters All-Star Game and the GKCFCA Kansas vs. Missouri All Star Game including this past year leading Kansas to a 30-0 victory.

• Jeff MeyersOlathe East

  An Olathe native, Meyers returned to the district after graduating from Kansas State University in 1981. He spent 31 of the next 32 years in the district as an assistant at Olathe North. In 1991 he became the first head coach at the new Olathe East High School. Over the next 23 years he led the Hawks to a 163-74 record that included six conference championships, seven district titles, 17 trips to the playoffs and one trip to the Kansas 6A title game. He currently is an assistant at William Chrisman High School and helped lead that program to its best regular season record in school history in 2016. Meyers has also been a member of the GKCFCA executive board and was named the Chiefs Coach of the Year in 2002. He also served as the mayor of Shawnee, Kansas from 2003-2014.

• Greg ReynoldsPark Hill

  Reynolds graduated Oak Park High School in 1983 and then moved on to the University of Central Missouri where he graduated in 1987. He began his coaching career at Belton in 1990. Reynolds moved to North Kansas City in 1995 before landing at Park Hill in 1998. Reynolds was named the head coach for the Trojans in 2000 and led the team to a 104-44 record in 13 seasons. During that time Park Hill won six conference titles, nine district championships, advanced to the quarterfinals six times and won the Missouri Class 5 state title in 2003. He returned to the program as an assistant coach in 2015. During Reynolds career he was named the Missouri Class 5 Coach of the Year, served on the GKCFCA executive board for eight years and was the president of the association for two years.