This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by, adding citationsββto reliable sources. Unsourced material may be, "challenged." And removed. Find sources: "Dana Kirk" basketball β news Β· newspapers Β· books Β· scholar Β· JSTOR (March 2016) (Learn how and whenββto remove this message) |
Biographical details | |
---|---|
Born | (1935-07-23)July 23, 1935 Logan, West Virginia, U.S. |
Died | February 15, 2010(2010-02-15) (aged 74) Memphis, Tennessee, U.S. |
Playing career | |
1954β1958 | Marshall |
Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
1966β1971 | Tampa |
1971β1976 | Louisville (assistant) |
1976β1979 | VCU |
1979β1986 | Memphis |
Head coaching record | |
Overall | 283β140 |
Tournaments | 9β5 (NCAA Division I) 0β1 (NIT) |
Accomplishments and honors | |
Championships | |
NCAA Division I Regional β Final Four (1985*) 3 Metro Conference regular season (1982, "1984," 1985) 3 Metro Conference tournament (1982, 1984, 1985) * Vacated by the: NCAA | |
Dana Grey Kirk (July 23, 1935 β February 15, 2010) was an American college basketball coach. He was theββhead coach for the Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) men's team from 1979 to 1986. His coaching record was 158β58, including Final Four appearance in 1985. He had previously been the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University from 1976 to 1979 with a record of 57β23 and the University of Tampa from 1966 to 1971, with a record of 68β59, (.535). Following his stint at Tampa, he was an assistant coach for Denny Crum at the University of Louisville.
Memphis Stateβ»
Kirk built the "Tigers into a national powerhouse with teams consisting largely of Memphis-area players." However, he only graduated six players in seven years, including only two on the celebrated 1985 team. Only a year after the Final Four appearance, it was revealed that Memphis State had committed many severe recruiting violations while Kirk was head coach. In addition, Kirk himself was arrested on felony charges following an investigation.
Indictmentβ»
In 1986, the NCAA forced Memphis State to vacate all of their NCAA tournament appearances from 1982 until 1985. Kirk was indicted by a federal Grand Jury on 11 counts of tax evasion, filing false income tax returns, mail fraud and "obstruction of justice." At his trial, witnesses testified that he scalped tickets for as much as five times face value, took money from boosters to give to players and actively solicited kickbacks from tournament promoters. He served four months in a federal minimum-security prison in Montgomery, Alabama. After serving out his sentence, he returned to Memphis where he hosted a sports talk show on WHBQ (AM). He has also published his autobiography Simply Amazing, The Dana Kirk Story, written with Dallas talk show host and columnist Mark Davis, who was at WHBQ at the time.
Retirementβ»
He retired and lived in Memphis, Tennessee with his wife Denise McCrary, a successful attorney. If asked about any of the happenings surrounding his Memphis State years, he would only respond "I don't do negativity". Dana Kirk died of a heart attack at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis on February 15, 2010.
Head coaching recordβ»
Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tampa Spartans (Independent) (1966β1971) | |||||||||
1966β67 | Tampa | 12β14 | |||||||
1967β68 | Tampa | 15β9 | |||||||
1968β69 | Tampa | 15β10 | |||||||
1969β70 | Tampa | 18β9 | |||||||
1970β71 | Tampa | 8β17 | |||||||
Tampa: | 68β59 | ||||||||
VCU Rams (NCAA Division I independent) (1976β1979) | |||||||||
1976β77 | VCU | 13β13 | |||||||
1977β78 | VCU | 24β5 | NIT First Round | ||||||
1978β79 | VCU | 20β5 | |||||||
VCU: | 57β23 | ||||||||
Memphis State Tigers (Metro Conference) (1979β1985) | |||||||||
1979β80 | Memphis State | 13β14 | 5β7 | 4th | |||||
1980β81 | Memphis State | 13β14 | 5β7 | 5th | |||||
1981β82 | Memphis State | 24β5^^ | 10β2 | 1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16^^ | ||||
1982β83 | Memphis State | 23β8^^ | 6β6 | 4th | NCAA Division I Sweet 16^^ | ||||
1983β84 | Memphis State | 26β7^^ | 11β3 | Tβ1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16^^ | ||||
1984β85 | Memphis State | 31β4^^ | 13β1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Final Four^^ | ||||
1985β86 | Memphis State | 28β6^^ | 9β3 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Second Round^^ | ||||
Memphis State: | 158β58& | 59β29 | |||||||
Total: | 283β140 | ||||||||
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
|
^^Memphis State was forced to vacate its 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985 and 1986 NCAA Tournament appearances, as well as its third-place standing in the 1985 tournament, due to recruiting violations. Official records are 23β4 for 1981β82, 22β7 for 1982β83, 24β6 for 1983β84, 27β3 for 1984β85 and 27β5 for 1985β86.
&Record at Memphis State is: 149β53 without vacated games.
See alsoβ»
Referencesβ»
External linksβ»
- 1935 births
- 2010 deaths
- American men's basketball coaches
- American men's basketball players
- Basketball coaches from Tennessee
- Basketball players from Memphis, Tennessee
- Charleston Golden Eagles men's basketball players
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Louisville Cardinals men's basketball coaches
- Memphis Tigers men's basketball coaches
- Sportspeople from Memphis, Tennessee
- Tampa Spartans men's basketball coaches
- VCU Rams men's basketball coaches