A&F Newsletter
Summer 2007
Cowley hires coaching legend as head men's
basketball coach - Steve Eck
Named
by the Wichita Eagle as one of the 11 greatest coaches in Kansas
in the 20th Century, coaching legend Steve Eck was named the new
head men’s basketball coach at Cowley College on March 19.
Eck replaces Brian Jackson as head coach of the Tigers as Jackson announced
his resignation one day after Cowley’s season came to an end with
a 71-69 loss to Garden City in the First-Round of the Region VI Tournament.
Eck is excited about coming to Cowley.
“It’s a good school that has a good tradition and a good administration,” Eck
said. “This was a good opportunity for me to get back to Kansas.”
Eck comes to Cowley from Redlands (Okla.) Community College where he
led the Cougars to the 2001-02 NJCAA Division II national championship
in his first year as head coach. During his second season, Redlands moved
to the Division I level and won the Region II championship and advanced
to the NJCAA Division I Tournament, making it the first time a school
moved from Division II to Division I and made the National Tournament
their first year.
In six years at Redlands, Eck compiled a record of 182 wins and only
22 losses. This past season, the Cougars finished 30-2 and were ranked
No. 1 in the NJCAA poll for three weeks.
Overall, in 29 years as a head coach, Eck has a record of 590 wins and
78 losses.
Tom Saia, Cowley College athletic director, is looking forward to having
Eck in charge of the Tiger men’s basketball program.
“I think we have got the top community college coach in the country,” Saia
said.
Prior to coaching at Redlands, Eck went 80-22 in three years as head
coach at Butler Community College. While at Butler, Eck guided his team
to an eight-week hold on the top ranking in the national NJCAA poll,
and was the first coach in school history to lead his team to a regional
championship in his first two years.
Eck is probably most well known for the success he had prior to coaching
at the junior college level as he led Wichita South High School to an
incredible 10 consecutive Wichita City League titles from 1986-1996.
During that time, Wichita South posted a staggering record of 227-15,
including a 153-7 mark in league play. His teams reached the state Final
Four eight consecutive seasons, winning six state championships.
Wichita South still holds the city league record of 51 straight consecutive
wins in league action. Eck is listed as the highest winning percentage
coach of high school coaches in the country with at least 200 wins.
Eck also served as the Associate Head Coach at NCAA Division I University
of Missouri-Kansas City during the 1999-2000 season, where he helped
revive the UMKC program.
UMKC was 8-22 prior to Eck’s arrival, and during Eck’s season
as Associate Head Coach, UMKC posted a 16-12 overall record, including
a 10-6 mark in conference play.
Along with his team’s success on the court, Redlands had the highest
team grade point average in NJCAA Division I four years (2001-02 to 2005-06)
in a row. Also every sophomore Eck coached at Redlands graduated and
received a scholarship to play at the next level.