Kansas State University Athletics
Men's Basketball
Jack Gardner
- Title:
- Head Coach
Jack Gardner had great numbers, great teams and great results. That is why he is enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame, basketball’s highest reward. It’s also the reason that he is often credited with beginning the great basketball tradition that exists at Kansas State today.
Simply stated, Gardner got it all started. Interestingly, he is the only head coach in school history to hold the top position on two different occasions (1939-42; 1946-53). His second stint at the school resulted in some of the best basketball ever played in Manhattan.
Entering the 1946-47 season, Kansas State hadn’t finished above the .500 mark for 15 years, but Gardner, renowned for his tactical prowess, rallied the Wildcats to a 14-10 season in the initial season of his second go-around. By his second season in 1947-48, the Wildcats had posted their first-ever 20-win season and captured both the Big Seven regular-season and Holiday Tournament titles. The 1950-51 squad, perhaps the school’s best-ever, would soar to a 25-4 record and become the only team to play for a national championship, losing to Kentucky, 68-58, in the finals. Gardner’s teams won a total of three conference crowns in seven years and captured two Big Eight Holiday Tournament titles, in addition to finishing the year ranked in the Top 20 on two occasions. He would finish his tenure with a 146-81 (.643) record, including a stunning 126-47 (.730) mark in his final seven seasons.
Aside from his on-the-court achievements, Gardner is remembered as the force behind the construction of Ahearn Field House in 1950. His successful teams of the late 1940s drove basketball fans in the state of Kansas into a frenzy, and tickets were as rare as the losses. After nearly a decade of trying to persuade state legislators, the new arena became a reality in December 1950.
Gardner, a native of New Mexico and a graduate of USC, responded with the 1950-51 team which was arguably the best in school history and one of two that would go to the Final Four during his tenure (the other was in 1947-48).
The 1950-51 squad led by All-American Ernie Barrett is still the only team in school history to advance to the NCAA title game.
Gardner left K-State in 1953 to take over the head coaching reins at Utah, where he remained for 18 years. He led the Utes to six NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the Final Four. He finished his career in Salt Lake City with a 339-154 record while winning seven conference titles. Between 1959-62, his Utah teams posted a 72-14 record. Overall, he posted a 486-235 (.674) mark in 28 seasons as a head coach.
Gardner, who was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2000, has been inducted into 11 different Hall of Fames. He is also a member of the Southern Utah Hall of Fame, Utah All-Sports Hall of Fame, State of Utah Basketball Hall of Fame, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Helms Foundation Hall of Fame, the Crimson Club (Utah), the Modesto (Calif.) Junior College Hall of Fame and the Redlands (Calif.) High School Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the 1982 winner of the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Golden Anniversary Award.
Gardner worked as a consultant for the NBA’s Utah Jazz from 1979 until 1991. Gardner, who passed away on April 9, 2000, is credited with discovering Gonzaga’s John Stockton while working for the Jazz.
Simply stated, Gardner got it all started. Interestingly, he is the only head coach in school history to hold the top position on two different occasions (1939-42; 1946-53). His second stint at the school resulted in some of the best basketball ever played in Manhattan.
Entering the 1946-47 season, Kansas State hadn’t finished above the .500 mark for 15 years, but Gardner, renowned for his tactical prowess, rallied the Wildcats to a 14-10 season in the initial season of his second go-around. By his second season in 1947-48, the Wildcats had posted their first-ever 20-win season and captured both the Big Seven regular-season and Holiday Tournament titles. The 1950-51 squad, perhaps the school’s best-ever, would soar to a 25-4 record and become the only team to play for a national championship, losing to Kentucky, 68-58, in the finals. Gardner’s teams won a total of three conference crowns in seven years and captured two Big Eight Holiday Tournament titles, in addition to finishing the year ranked in the Top 20 on two occasions. He would finish his tenure with a 146-81 (.643) record, including a stunning 126-47 (.730) mark in his final seven seasons.
Aside from his on-the-court achievements, Gardner is remembered as the force behind the construction of Ahearn Field House in 1950. His successful teams of the late 1940s drove basketball fans in the state of Kansas into a frenzy, and tickets were as rare as the losses. After nearly a decade of trying to persuade state legislators, the new arena became a reality in December 1950.
Gardner, a native of New Mexico and a graduate of USC, responded with the 1950-51 team which was arguably the best in school history and one of two that would go to the Final Four during his tenure (the other was in 1947-48).
The 1950-51 squad led by All-American Ernie Barrett is still the only team in school history to advance to the NCAA title game.
Gardner left K-State in 1953 to take over the head coaching reins at Utah, where he remained for 18 years. He led the Utes to six NCAA Tournament appearances and two trips to the Final Four. He finished his career in Salt Lake City with a 339-154 record while winning seven conference titles. Between 1959-62, his Utah teams posted a 72-14 record. Overall, he posted a 486-235 (.674) mark in 28 seasons as a head coach.
Gardner, who was inducted into the Kansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2000, has been inducted into 11 different Hall of Fames. He is also a member of the Southern Utah Hall of Fame, Utah All-Sports Hall of Fame, State of Utah Basketball Hall of Fame, Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame, Helms Foundation Hall of Fame, the Crimson Club (Utah), the Modesto (Calif.) Junior College Hall of Fame and the Redlands (Calif.) High School Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the 1982 winner of the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Golden Anniversary Award.
Gardner worked as a consultant for the NBA’s Utah Jazz from 1979 until 1991. Gardner, who passed away on April 9, 2000, is credited with discovering Gonzaga’s John Stockton while working for the Jazz.
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