Clarence Gaines had earned several awards and recognitions throughout his career. One of these awards was the CIAA Basketball Tournament Outstanding Coach Award, an award he won in the years 1953, 1957, 1960, 1961, 1963, 1966, 1970, and 1977; Gaines also was inducted into the CIAA Hall of Fame in 1975, the NAIA Helms Hall of Fame in 1968. Gaines was also the CIAA Basketball Coach of the Year in the years 1957, 1961, 1963, 1970, 1975, 1980. Another award he won was the Silver Buffalo Award, or the Boy Scouts of America Award. In 1967, the Winston-Salem State Men's basketball team won the 1967 NCAA Division II Basketball Championship. This team was the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) to win a national championship. Gaines was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 for his success as a basketball coach over the several years he coached.
Gaines was recognized in many ways for being involved in the basketball world, as well as the community in which he resided. Gaines was the President of the CIAA Basketball Coaches Association from 1972 to 1976, as well as the NAIA District Chairman from 1966 to 1972. He was the President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1989. In his community, he participated in several ways as well, being the Co-founder of the Winston-Salem Youth Baseball League in 1960 and was on the Experiment in Self Reliance Board of Directors. Other Board jobs Gaines had was on the Winston-Salem Automobile Club Board of Directors and and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame Board of Trustees. Gaines was also the founder of the Winston-Salem State University National Youth Sports Program and the President of the National Association of Basketball Coaches in 1989.