May 11, 2004

Cape Girardeau, Mo. - Southeast Missouri State University assistant basketball coach Gary Abner has resigned to accept a job as assistant coach at Tennessee-Chattanooga.

"It has been a pleasure to have Abner on our staff for the past three years," said Southeast coach Gary Garner. "Gary has a tremendous work ethic and we will miss him. He simply has a chance to make a lot more money at UTC. Gary has a bright future in this business."

A 1998 graduate of Wichita State, Abner served as an assistant at Butler County Community College, UMKC, Hutchinson Community College and Cumberland College prior to joining the Southeast staff.

"Working at Southeast has been a great experience," Abner said. "Coach Garner is a great guy and I have really enjoyed working for him. I am making the move because of financial reasons."