Former Memphis State basketball coach Dana Kirk died of an apparent heart attack at Methodist Hospital in Memphis on Monday evening.
Kirk coached the Tigers men’s basketball team from 1979 to 1986, compiling a record of 158-58. He took Memphis State to the Final Four in 1985.
Prior to taking the Memphis State job, Kirk had been the head coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and an assistant coach for Denny Crum at the University of Louisville.
Only a year after the Final Four appearance, Kirk was forced out after an investigation revealed he had committed several felonies. Moreover, the university was found to have committed many NCAA violations.
The Tigers were forced to sit out the 1987 NCAA Tournament, and were forced to vacate their Final Four appearance from 1985.
He was indicted by a federal Grand Jury on 11 counts of tax evasion, filing false income tax returns, mail fraud and obstruction of justice.
At his trial, witnesses testified that he scalped tickets for as much as five times face value, took money from boosters to give to players and actively solicited kickbacks from tournament promoters. He served four months in a federal minimum-security prison.
Kirk was 74-years-old.
