Stuart John Starner (April 8, 1943 – July 17, 2024) was an American college basketball coach. He was an NCAA Division I head men's coach for eleven seasons for Montana State University and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 8, 1943 Hoffman, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | July 17, 2024 (aged 81) Bozeman, Montana, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1962–1965 | Minnesota–Morris |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1978–1979 | Minnesota (GA) |
| 1979–1981 | Montana State (assistant) |
| 1981–1983 | Minnesota (assistant) |
| 1983–1990 | Montana State |
| 1990–1995 | UTSA |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 194–153 (.559) |
| Tournaments | 0–1 (NCAA Division I) 0–1 (NIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Big Sky tournament (1986) Big Sky regular season (1987) TAAC regular season (1991) Southland regular season (1992) | |
| Awards | |
| Big Sky Coach of the Year (1986) | |
Career
editStarner, a native of Hoffman, Minnesota, played basketball and football at the University of Minnesota Morris, graduating in 1965. After a successful high school coaching career in Wabasso and Richfield, Minnesota, Starner moved to the college ranks in 1978 as a graduate assistant at Minnesota. After assistant roles at Montana State and a second stint at Minnesota, Starner was hired as the head coach for Montana State in Bozeman, Montana in 1983.[1] In 1986, Starner's Bobcats won the 1986 Big Sky Conference tournament as the 6 seed, gaining the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the only team in the field with a losing overall record.[2] The following season, the Bobcats won the Big Sky Conference regular season title behind Conference Player of the Year Tom Domako.
In 1990, Starner took the unusual step of requesting a one-year sabbatical from his head coaching position at Montana State. His request was granted and assistant Mick Durham was named interim head coach.[3] However, Starner surprised the school two months later by accepting the head coaching position at UTSA.[4] Starner spent five seasons coaching the Roadrunners, Starner resigned in 1995 with an 84–58 record at the school. His teams won conference regular season championships in 1991 and 1992.[5]
Death
editStarner died in Bozeman, Montana on July 17, 2024, at the age of 81.[6]
Head coaching record
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montana State Bobcats (Big Sky Conference) (1983–1990) | |||||||||
| 1983–84 | Montana State | 14–15 | 7–7 | 3rd | |||||
| 1984–85 | Montana State | 11–17 | 7–7 | 5th | |||||
| 1985–86 | Montana State | 14–17 | 6–8 | 6th | NCAA Division I first round | ||||
| 1986–87 | Montana State | 21–8 | 12–2 | 1st | NIT first round | ||||
| 1987–88 | Montana State | 19–11 | 10–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 1988–89 | Montana State | 14–15 | 6–10 | 6th | |||||
| 1989–90 | Montana State | 17–12 | 8–8 | 5th | |||||
| Montana State: | 110–95 (.537) | 56–48 (.538) | |||||||
| UTSA Roadrunners (Trans America Athletic Conference) (1990–1991) | |||||||||
| 1990–91 | UTSA | 21–8 | 12–2 | 1st | |||||
| UTSA Roadrunners (Southland Conference) (1991–1995) | |||||||||
| 1991–92 | UTSA | 21–8 | 15–3 | 1st | |||||
| 1992–93 | UTSA | 15–14 | 10–8 | 3rd | |||||
| 1993–94 | UTSA | 12–15 | 8–10 | 6th | |||||
| 1994–95 | UTSA | 15–13 | 11–7 | 2nd | |||||
| UTSA: | 84–58 (.592) | 44–28 (.611) | |||||||
| Total: | 194–153 (.559) | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Montana State names Stu Starner basketball coach". Missoulian. April 5, 1983. p. 7. Retrieved August 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Bozemen are big contrast to Redmen". Los Angeles Times. March 12, 1986. p. 27. Retrieved August 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Montana St. allows Starner to take 1-year sabbatical". Billings Gazette. March 6, 1990. p. 15. Retrieved August 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Texas school hires Starner". Missoulian. April 10, 1990. p. 21. Retrieved August 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "UTSA basketball coach resigns". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. March 16, 1995. p. 65. Retrieved August 9, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Legendary Former Bobcat Basketball Coach Stu Starner Passes Away
