Dana Kirk (basketball)

Dana Grey Kirk (July 23, 1935 – February 15, 2010) was an American college basketball coach. He was the head coach for the Memphis State University (now the University of Memphis) men's team from 1979 to 1986. His coaching record was 158–58, including a Final Four appearance in 1985. He had previously been the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University from 1976 to 1979 with a record of 57–23 and the University of Tampa from 1966 to 1971, with a record of 68-59, (.535).[1] Following his stint at Tampa, he was an assistant coach for Denny Crum at the University of Louisville.

Dana Kirk
Biographical details
Born(1935-07-23)July 23, 1935
Logan, West Virginia
DiedFebruary 15, 2010(2010-02-15) (aged 74)
Memphis, Tennessee
Playing career
1954–1958Marshall
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1966–1971Tampa
1971–1976Louisville (assistant)
1976–1979VCU
1979–1986Memphis
Head coaching record
Overall283–140
Tournaments9–5 (NCAA Division I)
0–1 (NIT)

Memphis State

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.

Indictment

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.

Retirement

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.[2][3]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Tampa Spartans (Independent) (1966–1971)
1966–67 Tampa 12–14
1967–68 Tampa 15–9
1968–69 Tampa 15–10
1969–70 Tampa 18–9
1970–71 Tampa 8–17
Tampa: 68–59
VCU Rams (NCAA Division I independent) (1976–1979)
1976–77 VCU 13–13
1977–78 VCU 24–5NIT First Round
1978–79 VCU 20–5
VCU: 57–23
Memphis State Tigers (Metro Conference) (1979–1985)
1979–80 Memphis State 13–145–74th
1980–81 Memphis State 13–145–75th
1981–82 Memphis State 24–5^^10–21stNCAA Sweet 16^^
1982–83 Memphis State 23–8^^6–64thNCAA Sweet 16^^
1983–84 Memphis State 26–7^^11–3T-1stNCAA Sweet 16^^
1984–85 Memphis State 31–4^^13–11stNCAA Final Four^^
1985–86 Memphis State 28–6^^9–32ndNCAA 2nd Round^^
Memphis State: 158–58&59–29
Total:283–140

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament 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 23–4 for 1981–82, 22–7 for 1982–83, 24–6 for 1983–84, 27–3 for 1984–85 and 27–5 for 1985–86.

&Record at Memphis State is 149–53 without vacated games.

See also
  • List of NCAA Division I Men's Final Four appearances by coach

References
  1. http://tampaspartans.com/sports/mbkb/more/coaching-history
  2. Former Tiger Coach Dana Kirk Dies Archived 2010-02-19 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Ex-Memphis State Tigers basketball coach Dana Kirk dies
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