Building Leaders

Anteco Cross, ’95, arrived at Park University during a rebuilding year for the Pirates’ men’s basketball program. Cross was recruited in 1993, which was Claude English’s second year as head coach. He soon discovered that English was building much more than a winning team.

As a coach and later as Park’s director of athletics (a role he has held since 1996), English has consistently focused on building character. His expectations of excellence on and off the court equipped Cross, and generations of Park student-athletes, for success in adult life. That is what inspired Cross, along with teammate Brian O’Neil, ’96, to help establish the Coach English Endowed Scholarship at Park University. Donors have already contributed more than half of the $25,000 needed to endow the scholarship, which will be awarded to student-athletes who demonstrate the characteristics of dedication and discipline.

English’s legacy includes a long list of accolades. He coached the Pirates to the NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals in 1998. He was named American Midwest Conference Coach of the Year in 1995-96 and in 1997-98. In his tenure as director of athletics, the Pirates have won 73 conference championships in multiple sports.

But the award that might best represent English’s impact is the Outstanding Sportsmanship Award he and his team received during the 1998 NAIA tournament. Cross said English emphasized sportsmanship as an aspect of character.

“He always reminded us that we were an extension of him, and we were all an extension of Park,” Cross said. “He wanted us to say, ‘I am a graduate of Park,’ and know that it meant something.”

The Coach English Endowed Scholarship will help future student-athletes know the same thing.