Tom Apke (1995) - Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame

Tom Apke

Induction:
1995
Class:
1965

Apke, who just completed his ninth season as head men's basketball coach at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C., was a three-year starter for the Bluejays (1962-65) and later posted a 130-64 record in seven seasons (1974-81) as the school's head men's basketball coach. Apke, also the school's director of athletics for six of his seven years as head coach, is the third-most-winning coach in Creighton basketball history, leading the Bluejays to two Missouri Valley Conference championships (1978, 1981), three NCAA tournament appearances (1975, 1978, 1981), and one NIT tournament appearance (1977).

"We are very pleased to induct Tom Apke into our Athletic Hall of Fame and feel it is a well-deserved honor," Creighton Athletics Director Bruce Rasmussen said. "Tom was a very positive part of Creighton University in his 17 years as a player, coach, and athletics director, and he is still a very loyal supporter today."

Apke came to Creighton from Elder High School in Cincinnati, Ohio, and played the last two of his three years of varsity basketball with Paul Silas and all three years under the direction of head coach John J. "Red" McManus. Apke started all 27 games his sophomore year for the 1413 Bluejays, averaging 10.4 points and 4.8 rebounds on 43 percent (115-266) shooting from the field and 69 percent (52-75) from the free throw line. In 1963-64, the Bluejays advanced to the NCAA tournament, finishing the season with a 22-7 record. Apke, who appeared in all 29 of the team's games with 26 starts, averaged 6.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game on 43 percent (91207) shooting from the field and 56 percent (15-27) from the free throw line. As a senior, Apke was named team captain, and he averaged 5.7 points and 3.5 rebounds per game on 38 percent (46-122) shooting from the field and 69 percent (34-49) from the free throw line in 22 games for the 13-10 Bluejays.

After graduating from Creighton in May 1965 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Apke began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Cincinnati for the 1965-66 season, earning his master's degree in education during his one-year stay on the Bearcat staff. Apke then spent the next two years as head basketball coach at Cincinnati's McNicholas High School before returning to Omaha as an assistant to McManus on the Creighton staff for the 1968-69 season. In 1969, when Eddie Sutton took over the head coaching duties, Apke remained and was Sutton's top assistant and director of recruiting for the next five seasons (1969-74).

When Sutton left the Bluejay program for the University of Arkansas following the 1973-74 season, Apke was named director of athletics and head men's basketball coach, directing the Bluejays to an impressive 20-7 record and an NCAA tournament berth in his first season. In 1975-76, the Bluejays missed out on postseason play despite a 19-7 record, but a National Invitation Tournament bid came the following year when the Bluejays won 21 of 28 games.

Creighton was re-admitted into the Missouri Valley Conference for the 1977-78 season, and the Bluejays won the league's postseason tournament with their 54-52 home victory over Larry Bird's Indiana State squad. The Bluejays, who then lost 80-78 to DePaul in the first round of the NCAA tournament, finished the year with a 19-9 mark as Apke earned District 5 and MVC "Coach of the Year" honors.

After a 14-13 record in 1978-79 and a 16-12 mark in the 1979-80 season, Apke again directed the Bluejays to the MVC championship and an NCAA tournament berth in 1980-81. Behind the play of captains Kevin McKenna and George Morrow, the Bluejays swept through the MVC postseason tournament and finished the season with a 21-9 mark after losing 59-57 to St. Joseph's (Pa.) in the first round of NCAA Tournament play.

Apke left Creighton following the 1980-81 season to take the head men's basketball coaching position at the University of Colorado in Boulder. After compiling a 59-81 mark in five seasons at Colorado, Apke accepted the same position at Appalachian State University, where he has posted a 131-127 record in nine years as Mountaineers head coach. Honored as the Southern Conference "Coach of the Year" following the 1987-88 season, Apke led Appalachian State to the league's postseason tournament championship game in both the 1989-90 and 1990-91 seasons.

Apke's 320-272 overall record in 21 years as a collegiate head coach ranks him among the top 50 active Division I head coaches in all-time victories. He has produced 14 winning seasons, four 20-win seasons, and three seasons of 19 wins. Apke also has the distinction of coaching players who have gone on to perform in the NBA, NFL, and Major League Baseball. In his 21 seasons as a Division I head coach, nine of Apke's players have played in the NBA, with seven other players becoming professional basketball performers overseas.

A former member of the ABAUSA Council, Apke served on the basketball Games and Player Selection Committee for both the 1980 and 1984 Olympiads, and he also coached the Midwest team in the 1979 National Sports Festival.

Chairman of the Southern Conference Basketball Coaches, Apke serves on the Committee on Basketball Issues nationally and is a member of the Southern Conference Basketball Committee. Named Omaha's "Sportsman of the Year" in 1979 by the Omaha Sportscasters' Association, Apke also served as director of the NCAA College World Series for seven years (1974-80), and he was also a member of the NCAA Basketball Rules Committee from 1980-84.

Apke and his wife, Eileen, have a son, Mike, and a daughter, Karin.