Oct. 1, 2009
Notre Dame, Ind. – Legendary Notre Dame swim coach Dennis Stark `47 has been selected to receive the Monogram Club’s highest honor, the 2010 Moose Krause Distinguished Service Award. The award is given annually to a member of the Notre Dame family who has gone on to accomplish great achievement, which embody the spirit of the Monogram Club and the University.
The award presentation will take place in conjunction with this year’s Blue-Gold Spring Football Festival (April 16-17, 2010) in Sports Heritage Hall as part of the Monogram Club’s Annual Mass, Meeting & Dinner.
As part of the weekend festivities, the Monogram Club will be assisting with a reunion for the Notre Dame swimming and diving programs. Planning for the reunion is now taking place with details to be finalized in the coming weeks.
A 1947 graduate of Notre Dame, Stark was the first head coach of the Irish men’s program and guided them from 1958-85. He ended his career with a record of 167-137,including an 11-1 mark in 1974-75. Stark, whose student-athletes included Notre Dame’s first-ever NCAA qualifiers and six All-Americans, also headed the women’s program from 1981-85, compiling a 31-14 dual-meet record during his tenure. He was the 1984 women’s coach of the year in the North Star Conference. In 1985, Stark retired from coaching and moved into an administrative roll as director of Rolfs Aquatic Center.
Today, Stark remains heavily involved in the Special Olympics program in the Northern Indiana area. He was the aquatics venue manager for the 1987 International Summer Olympics held in South Bend and was even honored by Special Olympics advocate Eunice Kennedy Shriver for his outstanding work.
A native of Detroit, Mich., Stark and his wife, Angelina, have five children, three of which are Notre Dame graduates.