It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.

I had the good fortune to attend the Missouri State Sports Hall of Fame banquet on Saturday afternoon, where Dr Frank Dinka was installed for his work in bringing the beautiful game to Southwest Missouri State and more importantly, to Springfield and it’s surrounding communities. I have written before about Coach Dinka, who I called the Godfather of Springfield Soccer. Coach Dinka passed away three months after that interview and was thus inducted posthumously on Saturday.

The Banquet is an event I’d recommend for any parent thinking about the link between sports and citizenship. The Hall inducted four student-athletes yesterday and what a treat it was to hear the gratitude, joy and pride these individuals expressed at the honor of representing the university then and now. On a more personal note, I was fortunate to meet former players Steve Haase (Rosary) and Dennis Finnegan (DeSmet) who played for Dr Dinka and made the long drive because of the important role he played in their development. That’s the worst part – a technical issue appears to mean that I have lost both the photos and individual interviews I had with these gentlemen and Dr Dinka’s family members that were in attendance. I’m working to recover them but I’m not confident. I can’t express my frustration at this turn of events and I apologize to the individuals involved that I can’t share those items with them now as planned.

Coach Leamy made an impact on the entire banquet when just before the induction ceremony, the entire Men’s team strode into the banquet room to listen to Dr Dinka’s widow Jane Dinka accept the award on his behalf. They remained throughout and were a major part of the post-banquet conversation, photos and videos as they expressed their gratitude for the opportunities afforded to them by the earlier generation. Damn, it makes me emotional just recalling it and not having my normal contingent of photos and videos to share the experience with you. Expletive!

DR. FRANK DINKA
Soccer Coach, 1967-1986
Inducted February 6, 2010

Dr. Frank Dinka is the father of the current Missouri State soccer program as he pioneered the sport on the MSU campus more than a decade before it joined intercollegiate athletics. A native of Skalica, Slovakia, and an avid soccer player as a youth, Dinka played and coached soccer with the U.S. Army’s First Infantry Division in Germany. He graduated from the University of Bridgeport in 1956 and joined the MSU faculty in 1958. He received his master’s degree from Southern Illinois University and his doctorate from Washington University in St. Louis and was a Professor of Political Science at MSU.

Operating with limited resources from the university for travel, equipment and officiating, he began MSU men’s soccer as a club sport in 1967. Dinka found competition against nearby colleges and gradually expanded the base of the team’s schedule over more than a decade on the club level. With no scholarship assistance and with players whose recruitment to compete in soccer at MSU all came through word-of-mouth from other Missouri State players, Dinka coached the club through practices and matches while still maintaining his full teaching load. His teams posted winning records 12 of 14 seasons on the club level.

He guided the club team through 1980 and stayed on as head coach when soccer was elevated by Director of Athletics Aldo Sebben to intercollegiate status in 1981. Dinka was at the helm the following year when soccer joined the rest of MSU intercollegiate athletics in moving to NCAA Division I status. Dinka coached the Bears through 1986 when he turned the reins over to former assistant Jan Stahle and resumed full-time teaching after a total of 20 seasons with soccer. At the varsity level, Dinka’s teams saw their win totals increase five of his six campaigns and finished with a 33-60-6 varsity record. Dinka, who also helped start Springfield’s YMCA Youth Soccer Program, taught at MSU until his retirement in 1996. He passed away Oct. 6, 2005.

I’d like to invite all readers of this website to consider making a contribution to the Dr Frank “Doc” Dinka Scholarship fund that was established last year in the Coaches name. This website averages 300-400 visitors a day during the off-season. If each person were to donate $20 to the fund, it would be fully-funded and would be able to begin offering scholarships to worthy student athletes with the Fall 2010 season. Join Harry Cooper, Jan Stahle and former Asst AD Bill O’Neil who made the initial donation of $5000 to begin the fund.

Donations to the Dr. Frank “Doc” Dinka Memorial Men’s Soccer Scholarship
Checks can be made out to: “The Missouri State University Foundation” and mailed to:

Missouri State University
Attention Men’s Soccer
901 South National Avenue
Springfield, MO 65897

Or please contact the Missouri State University Development Office at (417) 836-4143 to make a donation using a credit card. Please refer to the Dr. Frank “Doc” Dinka Memorial Men’s Soccer Scholarship when making a donation.

Update – here’s a photo of the team with the alumni players on the left and Dr Dinka’s family members in the front. Provided by MSU Photo Services.