Stu Starner

Stu Starner

Biographical details
Born	(1943-04-08)April 8, 1943 Hoffman, Minnesota, U.S.
Died	July 17, 2024(2024-07-17) (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)
Women's Basketball Hall of Fame

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).

Career

Starner, 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. 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. 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. However, Starner surprised the school two months later by accepting the head coaching position at UTSA. 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.

Death

Starner died in Bozeman, Montana on July 17, 2024, at the age of 81.

Head coaching record

Statistics overview

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         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

External links

• Coaching record @ sports-reference.com