Mark Hankins Resigns As Michigan State Men's Golf Coach
7/9/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Golf
July 9, 2007
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Michigan State men's golf coach Mark Hankins resigned Monday to accept a similar position at the University of Iowa.
"Mark has done a wonderful job for Michigan State," said MSU athletics director Ron Mason. "We wish him all the best as he returns to his home state. What he's done here is establish a tradition that we plan to build upon in the years ahead."
In his eight seasons at the helm of the Spartan program, Hankins built Michigan State into one of the top golf programs in the Big Ten and the nation. During his tenure, Hankins, a two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, led the Spartans to 10 tournament wins, including Big Ten Championships in 2005 and 2007, and 46 top-five tournament finishes.
"I feel good about the position of our program here at MSU," said Hankins. "We are returning all but one starter from last year's Big Ten championship team and the depth and talent of next year's squad is the best we have ever had.
"It was a tough decision but I am excited to return to my home state and take on this new challenge in my career. I will miss all the friends, alumni, and MSU community that have made my time here so special. The future here at MSU is bright and I wish everyone the best."
Following stints at Iowa State as an assistant and the University of Texas at Arlington as head coach, Hankins took over the Michigan State program on May 26, 1999, and quickly returned the Spartans to national prominence. His teams made four appearances in the NCAA Regionals (2002, 2003, 2005 and 2007) with an individual NCAA Regional appearance in 2006. In 2007, Michigan State earned a team invitation to the NCAA Championships finishing 23rd in the country - its first trip as a team since 1993. Hankins tutored two All-Americans, two Academic All-Americans, seven all-region choices, one Big Ten Player of the Year, one Big Ten Freshman of the Year, 10 All-Big Ten selections and 27 Academic All-Big Ten honorees.
A native of Mount Pleasant, Iowa, Hankins was a member of the Iowa State golf team from 1988-93. In 1993, he earned first-team Academic All-America honors while also being named first-team All-Big Eight Conference. He also was a three-time Academic All-Big Eight selection (1989, 1991 and 1993).