- Dana Kirk (basketball)
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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. Prior to that he was an assistant coach for Denny Crum at the University of Louisville.
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, Kirk was forced out after an investigation revealed he had committed several felonies. Moreover, the Tigers were found to have committed many NCAA violations. The Tigers were forced to sit out the 1987 NCAA Tournament, and were forced to vacate their Final Four standing from 1985.
He 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.
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.[1][2]
Head coaching record
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason VCU (Independent) (1976–1979) 1976-1977 VCU 13-13 1977-1978 VCU 24-5 NIT 1st Round 1978-1979 VCU 20-5 VCU: 57-23 Memphis State (Metro Conference) (1979–1985) 1979-1980 Memphis State 13-14 5-7 4th 1980-1981 Memphis State 13-14 5-7 5th 1981-1982 Memphis State 24-5^^ 10-2 1st NCAA Sweet 16^^ 1982-1983 Memphis State 23-8^^ 6-6 4th NCAA Sweet 16^^ 1983-1984 Memphis State 26-7^^ 11-3 T-1st NCAA Sweet 16^^ 1984-1985 Memphis State 31-4^^ 13-1 1st NCAA Final Four^^ 1985-1986 Memphis State 28-6^^ 9-3 2nd NCAA 2nd Round^^ Memphis State: 158-58& 59-29 Total: 215-81 National Champion Conference Regular Season Champion Conference Tournament Champion
Conference Regular Season & Conference Tournament Champion Conference Division 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.
References
External links
VCU Rams men's basketball head coaches Benny Dees (1968–1970) • Chuck Noe (1970–1976) • Dana Kirk (1976–1979) • J. D. Barnett (1979–1985) • Mike Pollio (1985–1989) • Sonny Smith (1989–1998) • Mack McCarthy (1998–2002) • Jeff Capel III (2002–2006) • Anthony Grant (2006–2009) • Shaka Smart (2009–)
Memphis Tigers men's basketball head coaches Frederick Grantham (1920–1921) • W. H. DePriest (1921–1922) • Lester Barnard (1922–1924) • Zach Curlin (1924–1943) • No team (1943–1944) • Zach Curlin (1944–1948) • McCoy Tarry (1948–1951) • Eugene Lambert (1951–1956) • Bob Vanatta (1956–1962) • Dean Ehlers (1962–1966) • Moe Iba (1966–1970) • Gene Bartow (1970–1974) • Wayne Yates (1974–1979) • Dana Kirk (1979–1986) • Larry Finch (1986–1997) • Tic Price (1997–1999) • Johnny Jones # (1999–2000) • John Calipari (2000–2009) • Josh Pastner (2009– )
Pound sign (#) denotes interim head coach.Categories:- 1936 births
- 2010 deaths
- American basketball coaches
- College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
- Deaths from myocardial infarction
- Louisville Cardinals men's basketball coaches
- People from Memphis, Tennessee
- Virginia Commonwealth Rams men's basketball coaches
- Memphis Tigers men's basketball coaches
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