University of Missouri Athletics

Poe, a native of Rolla, Missouri, became the head golf professional at the Country Club of Missouri in 1972, and that led to him becoming the head golf coach at Mizzou in 1977, a position he held until 1998. Poe was a two-time Big Eight Conference Coach of the Year, leading his team to the conference championship in 1984, upsetting tradition-rich Oklahoma State and Oklahoma. That team included West Plains’ Stan Utley, Kansas City’s John Sherman, St. Louis’ Tom LaBarbera and Rock Bridge High School graduates Ben Wilson and Greg Meredith. The Tigers also finished 14th overall in the NCAA Finals a year after placing 13th a year before, and Utley earned all-America honors for the second straight year. Poe, who left CCMO to become A. L. Gustin’s director of golf in the middle of his tenure at Missouri, took a full team to the NCAA Tournament five other times before retiring in 1998. Additionally, he coached five PING all-America selections, 11 Cleveland Golf/Srixon all-America scholars and eventual PGA Tour players in Utley and Jason Schultz. His teams reached the NCAA Regionals or Finals in 15 of the last 16 years he coached. Every one of those teams were comprised 100% of Missouri-bred players. He played at MU from 1959 to 1963, and he tied for fifth at the 1963 NCAA Championships, still the best by any Tiger golfer. He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, and also that year was inducted into the Golf Coaches Association of America Hall of Fame.