Ex-Memphis State coach Dana Kirk, who made Final Four appearance that was vacated, dies at 74

Former Memphis State coach Dana Kirk dies at 74

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dana Kirk, who coached the Memphis State Tigers to a 1985 Final Four appearance that was vacated because of NCAA violations, has died. He was 74.

Kirk died Monday in Memphis, according to Warren Canale of Canale Funeral Directors.

Kirk was fired after the 1986 season, just before he was indicted on income tax evasion. He served four months in a federal minimum-security prison in Montgomery, Ala.

Kirk was 158-58 in seven years at the school now called the University of Memphis. The team was 31-4 when it went to the Final Four.

Besides vacating the Final Four appearance, the Tigers were forced to sit out the 1987 tournament.