For Lonnie Porter, setting a standard is much more than a priority, it is an expectation. For decades, Porter has guided his teammates, his players and young men and women of all ages to extract their absolute best, not for the world around them, but for their well-being. While Porter has already claimed a position in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference Hall of Fame as a basketball player, he will now join the hall once again, this time as a coach. He will be inducted into the league’s Hall of Fame as part of its 2022 class.
Porter’s ability to lead was prominent throughout his playing career, where he was a standout basketball player for Adams State during the 1960s. He then transferred his knowledge and aptitude for teaching the game into a coaching career. After making a few stops at the high school and collegiate levels as an assistant basketball coach, Porter was named the Regis men’s basketball coach in 1977, a position that he held onto until 2015.
While he not only successfully led a plethora of Regis men’s basketball programs to new heights, he also shaped his student-athletes into great men. In his 38 years with Regis athletics, Porter achieved an overall graduation rate of 94 percent.
“I liked watching him coach,” said former Regis Athletic Director Barb Schroeder. “I loved watching his teams, but it was everything he did off of the court that struck a chord with me. His ability to mold, mentor, teach and raise up his players as a head coach is second to none.”
With all of the knowledge, love and care that he poured into the Regis athletic department, it would have been simple for Porter to stop there. However, in addition to his coaching duties at Regis, he found the time to create the Lonnie Porter Leadership Academy. The leadership academy has since been renamed the Porter-Billups Leadership Academy following a partnership with NBA legend Chauncey Billups in 2006. The mission of the organization is to assist at-risk students with academic and leadership potential to successfully graduate from high school and have the opportunity to attend college. Once admitted, students who complete the academy and are subsequently granted full-tuition scholarships to Regis University.
To this day, Porter proves that leadership goes far beyond just words, but lands on people through actions. His hands-on efforts to guide the youth in the Denver metro area are second to none and he consistently shows the value of taking responsibility for one’s actions and future through knowledge.