His tucked-way office just off the gym might make a first-time visitor assume that nothing big has happened here. It’s oblong in design, and not even the size of a college dorm room.
And yet from behind that desk – and out on the hardwood some 40 feet away – is where Evangel University men’s basketball coach Steve Jenkins carved out quite a career at this north Springfield campus. You see, he’s the author of more than 600 wins, the most in school history.
“It didn’t take me too long – but it took me a few years – to figure out that you’ve got to be an advocate for the players,” Jenkins said. “They have to buy into what you’re selling. But you’ve got to be positive, if you want your players to respond.”
Jenkins has pushed the right buttons for decades and now comes an elite honor. The Missouri Sports Hall of Fame is proud to induct Jenkins among the Enshrinement Class of 2016. Enshrinement Ceremonies presented by Killian Construction are Sunday, January 31 in Springfield. For tickets, call 417-889-3100 and see our information box below for specifics.)
A 1974 graduate of Evangel University, Jenkins is in his 34th year as the Crusaders men’s basketball coach. Not only is he Evangel’s all-time leader in coaching wins but he also entered the 2015-2016 season at No. 5 among NAIA coaches in victories. Before this season, he was 631-428 (.596) overall and 340-158 (.683) within the Heart of America Athletic Conference.
His program has won seven Heart of America Athletic Conference championships and, in 2014-2015, enjoyed its 10th consecutive 20-win season and its 13th NAIA National Tournament appearance. And look on a wall in his office. See the framed newspaper? It’s of his 2001-2002 team winning the NAIA Division II national championship.
In essence, Jenkins is one of the coaches everybody pulls for. His recruiting has drawn primarily high school standouts from the Ozarks, and he enjoys talking positively of rival coaches. When his teams suffered a loss, he couched it in terms of “we” instead of singling out players.
For Jenkins, there was really nowhere else he wanted to coach. The Pittsfield, Illinois, native was a standout performer in both basketball and baseball at Evangel. He earned four baseball and three basketball letters. After three years coaching in Lakeland, Florida, he returned to Evangel as head baseball coach and assistant basketball coach under Aundrae Curtis.
“When Aundrae retired, for some reason Evangel decided to give a young whippersnapper the chance to be the head basketball coach, and they probably regretted that decision for the first four or five years,” Jenkins joked. “But we managed to stay ahead of the posse, and eventually we were able to build a competitive program.”
There was a time when the program struggled. After the 1985-86 season, his fourth as head coach, Jenkins was only 44-72 and had yet to produce a winning record. The pivotal 1986-87 season saw the Crusaders qualify for the NAIA District 16 playoffs with a 17-14 record, Jenkins’ first winning season.
Victory number 100 came in 1990, but it wasn’t until March 1997, when the Crusaders qualified for their first NAIA Division II National Tournament. In the ultra-competitive Heart of America Athletic Conference, postseason dreams often fell apart. Quality teams were devoured in the conference tournament, complicating their run to the NAIA Tournament.
Jenkins continued to fight the good fight on the recruiting trail and kept enhancing his roster. He won with shooting guards who would fire 3-pointers from 30 feet from the basket, and he won with big guys inside who somehow found ways to survive the grind of the season and exhausting battles. And Jenkins’ teams often featured the best defender in the conference, a guy who sacrificed his body for the program’s success. He also allowed his assistants to have much say in the program’s direction.
The 2001-02 national championship team finished 35-1, going wire to wire as the NAIA’s No. 1-ranked team. They were 20-0 in the conference, winning the league’s regular season and postseason tournament. They won the national championship by winning five games in six days, a grueling accomplishment.
To Jenkins, support from his wife, Rhonda, and their children Sarah, Jon and David and their families made a big difference. The couple also has seven grandchildren.
“I think (winning) is a tribute to all the great young men I’ve had the honor to coach, the outstanding assistant coaches I’ve been privileged to work with, and the tremendous support I’ve received from Evangel’s administrative team,” Jenkins said. “God has been gracious to bless me with a loving wife and a beautiful family. He has granted me good health, and I still have that competitive spirit that continues to burn inside. It’s hard to believe I have coached nearly 1,100 games.”
In 2014, Jenkins was inducted into the NAIA Hall of Fame. What a run it’s been.
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Enshrinement Ceremonies 2016 presented by Killian Construction
What: Missouri Sports Hall of Fame Enshrinement
When: 11 a.m. reception presented by Meeks The Builder’s Choice at the Hall of Fame, 3861 E. Stan Musial Drive; 4 p.m. reception & 5 p.m. dinner & event on Jan. 31
Where: University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center
Missouri Sports Legend: University of Central Missouri athletic director Jerry Hughes
Class of 2016: Mizzou Tigers football coach Gary Pinkel; former big-league pitcher Jerry Reuss, longtime NFL coach Gregg Williams, Springfield native and retired PBR bull rider L.J. Jenkins, Kansas City Chiefs center Tim Grunhard, St. Joseph native and Olympic gymnastics silver medalist Terin Humphrey, Kansas City native and St. Louis Cardinals linebacker Eric Williams, longtime Kansas City Royals scouting director Art Stewart, Evangel University men’s basketball coach Steve Jenkins, West Plains native and former Texas Christian University baseball coach Lance Brown, former University of Missouri and Olympic track and field standout Natasha Kaiser-Brown, Missouri Southern men’s basketball coach Robert Corn, St. Louis University High School racquetball coach Joe Koestner, Missouri State University sports information director Mark Stillwell, John Burroughs High School football coach Jim Lemen, The John Burroughs School football program and the Mizzou Tigers’ 1966 Sugar Bowl team. The John Q. Hammons Founder’s Award will go to Med-Pay, Inc., owned by Gordon and Marshall Kinne, and Ken Meyer of Meyer Communications is the recipient of the President’s Award.
Tickets: Call 417-889-3100. Individual tickets are $150. Tables of 10 are $1,500 and include associate sponsor recognition in the printed program and autographed prints. Sponsorship opportunities such as congratulatory ads also are available.
