Apaches set to honor Vic Salazar by renaming gymnasium Friday, Jan. 10

No name is more synonymous with the “Runnin’ Apaches” than longtime former head basketball coach Vic Salazar.

Salazar led the Tribe to 12 district championships, five zone championships, six area championships, three regional championships and three state semi-finalist finishes during his 20 years as Gonzales High School’s high chief of the hardwood court.

To honor his legacy, Gonzales ISD will hold a series of events on Friday, Jan. 10, leading up to a presentation by his former players and the official naming of the Vic Salazar Gymnasium and Vic Salazar Court just prior to the tipoff of the Apaches’ home district contest versus the La Vernia Bears.

The day will start with all former Runnin Apaches meeting up in the GHS Library at 3:45 p.m. Friday and a short meet and greet with refreshments from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.

From 5 p.m. to 5:45 p.m., there will be presentation of short videos of players in action against opposing teams during their time wearing the orange and black. Then, from 5:55 p.m. to 6:20 p.m., a number of Salazar’s former players, including Quincy Johnson — who will serve as emcee — will speak about their mentor before Salazar addresses the crowd. After the game, there will be a social gathering for more reminiscences.

“We are also honoring the players that played for me as they were loyal, made a commitment to the program, and worked hard to entertain the community every Tuesday and Friday night, to include playoff games, with up and down exciting winning basketball,” Salazar said of the ceremony as he noted that his many accomplishments are due to the hard work of players who bought in to his system.

Salazar first took over as head coach of the Runnin’ Apaches in 1974 after the team had won the state title under former Coach Vernon Hill. It was Salazar who would come up with the name “Runnin’ Apaches” and would make sure the players would live up to it — implementing an all-year offseason basketball and conditioning program as well as Salazar’s Basketball Camp during the summer.

He also made sure the team was playing games against first-class competition on the GHS gym floor by starting up the first basketball tournament in school history. He demanded commitment and loyalty from his players and got it as they would go 517-147 in his 20 seasons, winning at least 20 games every single year. In fact, the average record for those 20 years was 25.8 wins against just 7 defeats and the team lost only two district home games in two decades!

And while the Apaches in 2024-25 are fond of saying “Fear the Spear,” that was a way of life for Gonzales’ opponents in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.

In his first season, Salazar’s squad went undefeated in district play to capture the championship — the first GHS team to ever accomplish the feat. It wouldn’t be the last time they would do that as the Apaches won their district a dozen times. And worth noting is that during the first seven to eight years of Salazar’s stint in Gonzales, just the district champion would advance to the playoffs. Today, four teams qualify for the postseason.

Among the many honors Salazar received were numerous accolades from multiple publications, including the San Antonio Express-News, Victoria Advocate and the Austin American Statesman, all of whom awarded him several Coach of the Year honors.

Salazar would share his coaching talent as one of 12 Texas high school basketball coaches to be involved in the first Texas Association of High School Coaches Basketball Camp at Texas State in San Marcos. He also was a guest speaker at regional coaches meetings for Region IV, at the Austin Basketball Coaches Clinic, at the Texas High School Coaches Association Conference and the annual South Texas Whataburger Basketball Clinic held at South Padre Island.

While coaching basketball, Salazar would be offered the head football coaching job at Gonzales as well as the athletic director position. He turned it down, preferring to stay committed to building the best basketball program possible at GHS.

When he finally hung up his whistle at the end of the 1993-94 season, he was the one of the winningest coaches in South Central Texas and, to this day, is still the winningest head coach in any sport at GHS. Salazar would go on to climb the ladder at GISD, serving as assistant high school principal, Gonzales Junior High School principal, GHS principal, head of GISD Human Resources and finally superintendent of schools.

In that final position, he spearheaded a $5 million school construction bond program with basically zero interest that was used to build a new gymnasium, weight room and separate dressing facilities and coaches’ offices for the boys’ and girls’ teams. He also saw the construction of a new high school band hall and always said his “main concern was always for the health and safety of all students.”

He retired after 36 years from Gonzales ISD in 2010 and once was honored with a proclamation by Gonzales Mayor Carroll Wiley declaring Vic Salazar Day.

Following his retirement, he worked as vice president of the Trevor Romain Company’s Educational Department from 2010 to 2013 and then started his own public school consulting business from 2013 until 2018. When he retired from that in 2018, he accepted an adjunct professorship at Tarleton State University that he held until 2023.