Coach who brought Cowley first national title to be inducted into Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame

When you think Cowley College tennis you think Larry Grose. Having led the Tiger men’s tennis team to two national championships and 16 top-10 national tournament finishes in 18 years, Grose left his mark on the program before retiring from the school in 2005.

The coaching legend will be recognized for his outstanding accomplishments when he is inducted into the Tiger Athletic Hall of Fame on Feb. 16.

“Being inducted in to the Hall of Fame is a most humbling experience for me,” Grose said. “There are so many great players and coaches that it is most certainly the greatest honor I could receive for my years of coaching. I am placing myself in such an elite group of people that it is just breath taking.”

Grose turned down the head coaching job at Cowley three times before finally accepting the position in January 1988.

“Sure am glad I decided to take the job, it has been the adventure of my life,” Grose said. “No amount of money could replace those years. It was never a job to me, I absolutely loved the entire experience.”

The team Grose inherited took last in Region VI in his first year as coach. However, the next season resulted in the first of Grose’s two national championships. The interesting thing about that tournament was that Cowley was so dominant that they had it won before the final day of competition. The national title was the first in the history of the Cowley sports programs.

One of Grose’s players came to him during the championship and said "Coach, after the meat grinding schedule you put us through this tourney is a cake walk.”

After working magic in just his second year as coach of the Tigers, Grose led Cowley to its second national championship in 1991.

“The ‘91 team in my view was certainly the best team I ever coached and maybe the best team in Cowley tennis history,” Grose said.

With Grose at the helm, Cowley never finished worse than 10th during its 16 trips to the national tournament.

“Everything he has accomplished as a tennis coach here speaks for itself,” Cowley athletic director Tom Saia said. “He was not only a great coach, but also a great person.”

Grose coached 32 All-Americans during his 18 years, and captured nine Region VI titles. Only twice in his 18 seasons did the Tigers fail to qualify for the national tournament, and even then they still had individual representation.

Along with the national titles Grose helped the Tiger tennis team win, his squads also captured numerous national and regional academic titles. On three different ocassions, 1993, 1997 and 1998, his teams were named the National Academic Team of the Year.

“As I grow older and move away from the forest to see the trees those honors grow higher in my priority list,” Grose said.

Grose was the National Awards Chairman for several years and was in line for president of the NJCAA association when he retired.

He prided himself in being part of the instructional side of the institution as he served as an adjunct instructor each year he coached at Cowley.

“It was a way in my mind to give something back to the college besides coaching,” Grose said. “I worked very hard and was very committed to the educational side of the institution. I did not think most of our athletes would be making it to the pros but rather thought if I could help make them productive for the workforce they might be able to get a job and support themselves and their families.”

Prior to his coaching career, Grose and John Guyot were J.C. Louderback's first and second state champions. The duo were 53-2 their junior and senior years at Ark City High School. They won the Ark Valley, regional and state titles in 1960 and 1961.

Louderback coached nine state doubles championships, with five of those titles coming from the Grose family as Larry, and his sons Jason (two titles) and Jared (one title) each won doubles titles.

After graduating from Arkansas City High School in 1961, Grose played tennis at Wichita State University and Oklahoma State University. He graduated from OSU in 1966.

He passed up other opportunities to spend his coaching career in his hometown of Arkansas City.

“I loved the people at work and the community I grew up in, I never really thought of leaving,” Grose said. “I still feel that way today. I would not have changed any thing about my career path.”

Although he is no longer coaching tennis, Grose stays active in Bradenton, Fla. He is involved in a 60-and-over tennis league, which plays other clubs in the area.

“I am most happy when I have a racket in my hand and am doing something around the game of tennis,” Grose said. “It is most certainly the thing that gives me the most joy in my life.”