Longtime coach Dan York honored
HANCEVILLE — Wallace State Community College and the Alabama Community College Conference honored golf coach Dan York on Monday for his long tenure of service and accomplishment to the college and the sport.
York is being inducted into the ACCC Hall of Fame this year, adding to his previous inductions in the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Golf Coaches Hall of Fame and the Cullman County Sports Hall of Fame. Dean Myrick, ACCC Commissioner, presented him with a commemorative ACCC Hall of Fame plaque at the event.
York will also have the Wallace State golf practice facility at the college’s Wellness Center named in his honor upon approval by the Alabama Community College System Board of Trustees later this year. Wallace State President Vicki Karolewics read aloud a resolution in honor of York and the naming of the facility, and presented him with a copy of the sign that will be installed at the venue.
“You and your teams have been outstanding representatives of Wallace State. We are so proud of you and so very pleased to be able to recognize you in this way,” she said.
“It has been my honor to have been part of the Wallace State family and this sport, and to have coached so many outstanding young men and women,” York said, acknowledging with gratitude the outpouring of support he has received.
Under York’s leadership, the Wallace State men’s golf team has won 13 Alabama Community College Conference (ACCC)/National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Region 22 Championships and made 23 appearances at the NJCAA National Championships.
His teams finished second on three occasions — 1993, 1996 and 2014. Two of his players — Aksel Olsen in 2013 and Cooper Brown in 2014 — were individual national champions, winning the Arnold Palmer Low Medalist Award.
Coach York began Wallace State’s women’s golf program in 2015, earning three additional ACCC titles and national tournament appearances in the first three years of that program.
During his 32-year tenure, York coached 21 NJCAA Division I All-Americans, more than 40 NJCAA Academic All-Americans, three NJCAA Academic Teams of the Year, and numerous professional players. Former Ryder Cup and PGA player Brett Wetterich, current PGA player Fredrik Jacobson, and country music star Kip Moore are among his former players.
A 1968 graduate of Cullman High School, York has always had a passion for golf, excelling as a player and coach, competing widely himself, and winning numerous local tournaments. After high school, he served in the United States Air Force. Later, he played collegiately at St. Bernard College, lettering for four seasons, and earning a degree in physical education in 1974. Prior to joining Wallace State, he coached at Fairview High School.
As York has been battling cancer, the presentations were made at his home, with family, colleagues and friends present.