Legacy of the late Stan Ballard ’89 memorialized in new Maryville College practice facility
Jan. 27, 2025
That his name will adorn the Maryville College practice facility in Cooper Athletic Center is only fitting for the late Stan Ballard ’89, who fought the cancer that claimed his life with the same tenacity he brought to the Scots basketball team.
On and off the court, Ballard is remembered as both a fighter and a man of deep convictions whose lifelong dedication to the game led to the betterment of everyone around him, from college teammates and personal friends to the boys he coached at various East Tennessee high schools. On Saturday, a small gathering of friends, former teammates, family members and donors gathered to remember him and to unveil the Ballard Practice Facility, made possible through a financial gift from Ballard’s long-time friend and former teammate, Scott Fletcher ’89.
“The Ballard Practice Facility gives our student-athletes additional competition-quality training space, which is often a luxury at the Division III level,” said Dr. Andrew Wu, director of Athletics at Maryville College. “It provides the department with greater scheduling flexibility and allows us to utilize the space in different ways to make sure our students are always getting better.”
The practice facility, dedicated shortly before tip-off between the Scots and Belhaven on Saturday, is an additional improvement to the Cooper Athletic Center, which first opened in 1970 as a $1.7 million facility for MC basketball and volleyball teams. While various renovations over the years have kept up with modernizations in Athletics, the Ballard Practice Facility is the latest in a series of efforts that include new gymnasium lights, a new video scoreboard and sound system and new floors for all three basketball gyms, installed last summer.
Although Ballard graduated from Maryville’s William Blount High School in 1984, it would be another two years before he donned the orange and garnet.
“I loved watching Stan Ballard play at William Blount High School. I loved his game and his competitive spirit,” said Randy Lambert ’76, who retired following the 2018-19 MC basketball season after 39 years as head coach. “He was a leader, and he made those around him better. When he chose Roane State Community College, it nearly broke my heart, but I stayed after him, and two years later, he decided to transfer to Maryville.
“It didn’t take long for the team to appreciate this addition to the roster — especially Scott Fletcher, who was a sophomore at that point. He and Stan hit it off on day one.”
“He had his own style that was so very easy to love,” Fletcher added. “ It blended goofy and naive, with honesty and character. Complete purity. Unwavering commitment. He was just a very special dude who loved to compete, win, and loved doing it with those around him.”
Together, the pair were a dual threat in the post position, Lambert said, and usually finished each game of the 1987-88 season as the top scorers and rebounders. In their final year together, they led the team with an average of 15 points per game, and the team itself finished with an 18-7 record. As a fifth-year senior, Ballard was ineligible for another year of basketball, but Lambert added him to the staff as an assistant coach for the 1988-89 season, Fletcher’s final year as a player and a squad that was recognized during halftime of Saturday’s game.
While honored to be a part of that team, it was the two years he played alongside Ballard that ultimately led to his decision to help the College put together the Ballard Practice Facility.
“I felt the Ballard name being forever on the new practice facility was very appropriate for a few reasons,” Fletcher said. “Stan was an MC student-athlete who lived his short life in exemplary fashion. He was the epitome of all the good things that make special teams, special. And our family wanted for our team to share in the joy of recognizing Stan for what he meant to us, collectively, and with hope that it will strengthen friendships in the remaining balance of our lives.”
After graduation — something of a family tradition, as his siblings include two sisters who are Maryville College alumni, Rose Ballard Justice ’90 and Lanai Ballard Slater ’93 — Ballard was hired to teach math at Oak Ridge High School, eventually brought on as a men’s basketball assistant coach. Five years later, he was hired to head the men’s basketball program at Oliver Springs High School before being recruited by Morristown West High School administrators to lead their squad in 1995. He received the offer, he recalled in 2000, on the same day he was diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma, an aggressive form of cancer. It didn’t dissuade him from the job, and both Lambert and Fletcher had a ringside seat to the way his indomitable spirit carried over from the court to his cancer fight, which ultimately claimed his life in December 2005.
“After the cancer news, he had every reason to be bitter and mad at the world, but he wasn’t,” Fletcher said. “He relied on his family, his friends, his faith, and his character to endure a courageous 10-year battle. I visited with him a few days before he passed and will never forget our conversation. He was totally at peace and spreading sunshine and optimism.”
“Stan battled cancer just like he played and coached the game of basketball,” Lambert added. “His spirit to never give up was an inspiration to all of us. It is very fitting that the honor places Stan’s name on the practice floor. He had a strong work ethic and invested hours on this floor to make himself and his team better.
“Future Scots will be inspired to do the same. It’s also fitting that this gift originates from a team that helped establish the Maryville basketball culture that we all enjoy today — a culture not just of winning, but of impacting lives.”
