Coach John Widner is pictured above with the 1980-81 Devil Dog basketball team.
|
About Coach John Widner2Coach John Widner is one of the winningest coaches in Arkansas basketball history with a record of 875-197. His name is synonymous with Arkansas basketball as he was a pioneer in his home state. Widner's career began in the mid-1950s in Omaha, Ark., with other stops in Green Forest, Flippin, and Leachville, before coaching in Morrilton. His tenure at Morrilton High School lasted 14 years. His Devil Dogs made an unbelievable six consecutive trips to the state championship game (winning the title in 1972-73) with a record of 32-3. He also coached in the high school All-Star game seven times. Coach Widner averaged 22 wins a season for 14 consecutive years. He finished his high school coaching career with the third-best win-loss record among high school coaches in the nation. After Morrilton, he moved to the college ranks in 1984-85, as he took over the reigns of the his alma mater, Arkansas Tech. In his first season at Tech, he led the Wonder Boys to 22 wins and an AIC championship. That earned him AIC Coach of the Year honors. Coach Widner, a native of Alpena, Ark., was inducted into the Arkansas High School Coaches Hall of Fame and the Arkansas Officials Association Hall of Fame in 1996 and the Arkansas Sports Hall of Fame in 2003.
|
Who We Are |
We are a group of Coach John Widner supporters raising money to officially name the court at the new Morrilton High School Devil Dog Arena after Coach John Widner. We feel this is an appropriate honor for a man who coached, taught, and guided so many students of Morrilton High School.
Our committee consists of:
|
Our History |
On September 15th, 2015, the voters of the South Conway County School District overwhelmingly supported the measure to raise funds for the construction of many buildings around the district. Among these buildings is the new Devil Dog Arena at Morrilton High School. In June 2016, a group of supporters approached the SCCSD about naming the court after Coach John Widner.
|