Dan Stark

Dan Stark, the all-time winningest men’s basketball coach in Cowley College history, will be inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 12.

Stark served as men’s basketball coach at Arkansas City Junior College from 1923-43, and 1945-46 and retired as the school’s all-time leader in wins (200). During his time as head basketball coach, Stark compiled a record of 200-146. He also coached track at the college.

Stark came to ACJC in the fall of 1923 after completing his master’s degree at the University of Missouri, where he was a star on the basketball team. He also is credited with giving Cowley the nickname Tigers, after his alma mater, MU.

Stark met his wife, Audra, at ACJC and the two married on June 18, 1925. Audra, who was in the first graduating class at ACJC and helped campaign to get the school certified as a degree college, resides in La Grange, Ga. The two were married until Dan’s death in 1979, and had two children together, Dan Jr. and Jack.

“Dan would have been very surprised and very pleased to receive this honor, as am I,” said Audra Stark. “He had a love for the fellows he coached and for athletics.”

It didn’t take long for Stark to have success coaching the Tiger basketball team as he led Cowley (12-4) to its first conference championship in the 1925-26 season. The team went 16-2 and repeated as conference champions the following season.

He also guided the Tigers to their best single-season winning percentage (.905) in school history during the 1935-36 season as the team finished 19-2.

Besides being a coach, Stark was a well-respected chemistry teacher at ACJC.

He went on to teach navigation and ground school aviation classes for a program the federal government put in place for college students. Because of that experience, he went into the Air Force as a commissioned officer. He was discharged from World War II in October 1945.

He returned to coach the Tiger basketball team for one more season and led the 1945-46 team to a record of 9-6. During his time at ACJC, he taught chemistry, math and physics until his retirement in 1964.

Audra, who will turn 100 on March 11, and was honored in May 1994 with the Outstanding Tiger Alumni Award, lived in Arkansas City for 84 years and is looking forward to returning for the Hall of Fame Induction.

“I’m really excited about it,” Stark said. “Dan is very deserving of this.”

Her sons, and two grandchildren, John Stark and Jennifer Stark Fry, will join her at the induction ceremony. John serves as the associate director of athletics at the University of Wyoming, and Jennifer is a teacher at Wichita East High School.

“They more or less followed in their grandfather’s footsteps,” said Stark.