KAMLOOPS – Commanding the sideline as head coach of the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack men's basketball team since the 2010-11 season, Scott Clark and the WolfPack announced today that the 2022-23 season will be his last.
 
Ending his time as basketball coach after 13 years at the helm of the 'Pack, Clark will remain with the department as he moves into the role of manager, high performance sport.
 
"The demands of the job, as a head coach, are hard to meet at this time," said Clark. "Just evaluating things moving forward, I don't have the energies to do the job the way I would like to do the job."
 
In his new position with the 'Pack, Clark will be working closely with coaches, performance-staff and student-athletes to help eliminate barriers to success and identify new resources to support team performance.
 
"For close to three decades, Scott Clark has been a top men's basketball coach in the country," said WolfPack Director of Athletics and Recreation Curtis Atkinson. "He leaves a tremendous legacy with what he has accomplished on the court and beyond. In addition to considerable on-court success, countless student-athletes have gone onto successful lives and careers thanks to the influence he has had in preparing them for life beyond basketball."
 
Assuming the reigns of a program that had won just eight games in the first five years since making the jump to U SPORTS competition, Clark immediately made an impact at TRU. Improving their win total in each of his first three seasons with the 'Pack, the Kelowna product helped TRU earn their first postseason berth in 2013-14.
 
In 2015-16 Clark led his squad on a magical season and was named the Canada West Coach of the Year for his efforts. TRU compiled a regular season record of 16-4 en route to winning the Explorer Division title. In the postseason, a victory over the UBC Thunderbirds in the CW Semifinal sent TRU to the program's first-ever appearance at the U SPORTS National Championship where they were narrowly defeated by perennial powerhouse Carleton in the quarter-final.
 
In total, Clark and the WolfPack qualified for the playoffs seven times in eight seasons from 2013-14 to 2021-22, earning eight postseason victories during that time.
 
He has coached ten players to Canada West All-Star status and the program has won five Canada West and two U SPORTS awards during his tenure.
 
Of course, it isn't just on the court where Clark's players have excelled. Since 2010-11 36 members of the 'Pack have earned Academic All-Canadian status while graduates of the WolfPack have gone on to become leaders within their communities across not just B.C., but the nation.
 
"I'm extremely proud of all the guys that I've been able to coach," said Clark. "I have former players that have gone on to be high school teachers, lawyers, surgeons, police officers, fire fighters, businessmen, coaches and athletic administrators. When you recruit kids they often say 'oh I want to be a pro', the truth is that all these guys that have played for me are pros. It's satisfying to see that I have a lot of former players that have gone on to great things – and I'm not the reason for the success, but I hope that I can share in part of that."
 
Prior to joining the 'Pack Clark was the head coach at Simon Fraser University from 1995 – 2010. During his time with SFU, he won 59 regular season NAIA games and 113 Canada West conference contests.
 
A graduate of the University of Victoria, Clark has also spent time as a head coach in high school basketball with Nanaimo District Secondary. As an assistant he spent time at Malaspina College, UVic and SFU.
 
"I have great respect for Scott's values, his work ethic, his integrity, and the selflessness with which he approaches the job. He is honest, treats people with respect, and cares about the success of those around him. While I am going to miss him as our men's basketball coach, I am excited to work closely together as he takes on this new role. I know WolfPack student-athletes, coaches, and staff will continue to benefit from his leadership and presence," said Atkinson
 
Clark is scheduled to begin his new role March 1.