Brian Bess announces retirement as Raiders' coach, AD

Three Rivers College men's basketball coach Brian Bess (middle) announced his retirement Tuesday as coach and the college's athletic director. Bess and his father, Gene Bess (left), coached for a total of 55 years at TRC.

DAR file

For the first time since 1969, there will not be a Bess coaching on the bench next season for the Three Rivers College men's basketball team.

TRC men's basketball coach and athletic director Brian Bess announced his retirement Tuesday after 31 seasons with the program, including the last four as the Raiders' head men's basketball coach.

“I've been doing this, as my wife said, all my life. This is probably all I know,” Bess said. “I've tried to be an ambassador or promoter and a friend of the program for Three Rivers men's basketball, and all of (TRC) athletics, because I care about Three Rivers a lot. It means a lot to me.”

Bess's retirement marks the end of a 55-year run at Three Rivers by the legendary coaching family. Brian's dad, Gene Bess, joined TRC as an assistant coach in 1969 and served as head coach from 1970 to 2020, winning 1,300 games along the way. The elder Bess was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame last summer.

“My dad coached 12 years in high school before coming here,” Brian Bess said. “And then he was an assistant here for one year and then 50 more as head coach. I think the thing I was able to do was to help him coach longer. I thought we had a great bond.”

Brian Bess played basketball at TRC for his father from 1989 to 1991 and returned to Three Rivers as an assistant coach in 1993. He spent 27 seasons as an assistant coach and took the reins of the program in 2020 when his father retired.

“Brian has integrity like no one else I know,” Gene Bess said. “He's going to do the right thing. I always tried to get someone to assist me that I thought would make me better (and he did). … If I wanted to go into the biggest game of my life, I'd like to have him on my bench.”

During Brian Bess's 27 years as an assistant, the Raiders won 11 Region 16 titles and advanced to the NJCAA tournament seven times, including two national runner-up finishes (1994 and 2010), a fourth-place finish in 2008 and a fifth-place finish in 1995. The team also advanced to the national quarterfinals in 2007. Overall, the younger Bess contributed to 690 wins in his Three Rivers career.

“I think it's hard to put into words, but I think a lot of people would be understanding and empathetic on a chance to spend more time with their dads — and I got to spend a lot of time with my dad,” the younger Bess said. “We spent a lot of time in the office, we spent a lot of time at the dinner table, we spent a lot of time watching video, we spent a lot of time together … on bus rides and a lot of time in the gym. We spent a lot of time together, which made it a real blessing.”

The elder Bess credits Brian for being a big part of his own success as a coach.

“He did everything I ever asked him to do,” Gene Bess said. “He was the hardest worker I ever had around me. Anything I didn't want to do, he would do. He and I also went over every decision that I made. I trusted him enough I wanted to know how he felt.”

So what does retirement hold for Brian Bess?

“I'm really undecided but it's a fun time,” Brian Bess said. “I might run for office. I might run for Three Rivers Board of Trustees — there's different things that I might do. I haven't really decided yet what the future is going to hold.

“I might relax and play a lot of golf, I might travel and I might enjoy retirement a little bit — or I may get a job. I may find something challenging that I really want to do. There's a lot of what ifs and it's going to be a fun time to figure it out. The one thing I do know is I will continue to spend a lot of time with my dad.”