Photo by: Andrew Pedersen
Bobcat Track & Field Announces Fund in Honor of Former Coach Rob Stark
5/7/2019 3:53:00 PM | Men's Track and Field, Women's Track and Field
Montana State University and Bobcat Athletics announced today a $500,000 gift in support of the MSU track and field program in honor of former head coach Rob Stark
BOZEMAN – Montana State University and Bobcat Athletics announced today a $500,000 gift in support of the MSU track and field program in honor of former head coach Rob Stark.
The anonymous gift will be maintained as the Rob Stark Excellence in Track and Field fund. The gift will provide necessary endowment resources to the track and field and cross-country programs to help their students excel in the classroom and in competition.
"This gift will provide the program tremendous resources to continue to excel," MSU Director of Athletics Leon Costello said. "The effort Rob Stark put into getting the track and field program off the ground and achieving at a national level is still being felt today. This gift recognizes his impact on the program and will fuel its continued success."
Stark served as Montana State's men's track and field coach for a quarter century, running the program from 1976 to 2000. Upon arriving at MSU, Stark immediately turned around a track and field program operating at the time at essentially an intramural level.
The Bobcat head coach had eight student-athletes earn Division I All-America status under his guidance. Jeff Clem and Lance Deal were the men's program's first two DI All-Americans in 1984. MSU was put on the map in 1990 when Shannon Butler achieved the team's first national championship in the outdoor 10,000-meter run, then added to his resume when he earned another NCAA title in the outdoor 5,000-meter run in 1991.
The men's team itself began to see success as the hard work of building the program up started to pay off. MSU earned its highest finish in 17 years at the Big Sky Conference Championships in 1984 with a third-place showing. MSU replicated the finish in 1989 then earned back-to-back runner-up performances at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in 1990 and 1991. Stark's Bobcats would go on to claim two third-place finishes and another second-place effort at Big Sky meets over the next nine seasons.
His tenure as the head coach of the men's program also featured a series of in-state dominance in the Cat-Griz Dual. Montana had won 10 straight duals over the MSU men's program prior to Stark's arrival and extended the streak to 14 before MSU halted it in 1981. Stark's teams eventually won 12 straight in the series from 1987 through 1998.
Beyond the success in competition, Stark was and continues to be revered for his enthusiasm toward Montana State's student-athletes, past and present. As coach, Stark was respected for his efforts working with student-athletes in dealing with life's challenges. Through the end of his coaching career and following it, Stark continues to be admired for his spirit and integrity. In retirement, he's remained active in supporting all Bobcat Athletic programs.
The Montana State track and field program's season winds down as the Bobcats get set to compete at the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships. The meet begins with multi events on Wednesday, May 8, while full individual events start on Friday in Missoula.
The anonymous gift will be maintained as the Rob Stark Excellence in Track and Field fund. The gift will provide necessary endowment resources to the track and field and cross-country programs to help their students excel in the classroom and in competition.
"This gift will provide the program tremendous resources to continue to excel," MSU Director of Athletics Leon Costello said. "The effort Rob Stark put into getting the track and field program off the ground and achieving at a national level is still being felt today. This gift recognizes his impact on the program and will fuel its continued success."
Stark served as Montana State's men's track and field coach for a quarter century, running the program from 1976 to 2000. Upon arriving at MSU, Stark immediately turned around a track and field program operating at the time at essentially an intramural level.
The Bobcat head coach had eight student-athletes earn Division I All-America status under his guidance. Jeff Clem and Lance Deal were the men's program's first two DI All-Americans in 1984. MSU was put on the map in 1990 when Shannon Butler achieved the team's first national championship in the outdoor 10,000-meter run, then added to his resume when he earned another NCAA title in the outdoor 5,000-meter run in 1991.
The men's team itself began to see success as the hard work of building the program up started to pay off. MSU earned its highest finish in 17 years at the Big Sky Conference Championships in 1984 with a third-place showing. MSU replicated the finish in 1989 then earned back-to-back runner-up performances at the Big Sky Outdoor Championships in 1990 and 1991. Stark's Bobcats would go on to claim two third-place finishes and another second-place effort at Big Sky meets over the next nine seasons.
His tenure as the head coach of the men's program also featured a series of in-state dominance in the Cat-Griz Dual. Montana had won 10 straight duals over the MSU men's program prior to Stark's arrival and extended the streak to 14 before MSU halted it in 1981. Stark's teams eventually won 12 straight in the series from 1987 through 1998.
Beyond the success in competition, Stark was and continues to be revered for his enthusiasm toward Montana State's student-athletes, past and present. As coach, Stark was respected for his efforts working with student-athletes in dealing with life's challenges. Through the end of his coaching career and following it, Stark continues to be admired for his spirit and integrity. In retirement, he's remained active in supporting all Bobcat Athletic programs.
The Montana State track and field program's season winds down as the Bobcats get set to compete at the Big Sky Conference Outdoor Championships. The meet begins with multi events on Wednesday, May 8, while full individual events start on Friday in Missoula.
Big Sky Preview
Friday, February 11
Track and Field Big Sky Championships
Monday, February 18
Coach Kennedy - Feb. 11, 2013
Tuesday, February 12
Coach Kennedy - Feb. 4, 2013
Tuesday, February 05
