“Thank you for all you have done for our program, school district and our community,” Beavercreek Athletic Director Brad Pompos wrote on Twitter. “A job well done.”
Zink told his players of his retirement at an awards banquet Sunday, Pompos said. He had been dwelling on the decision for a while.
“He was tired,” Pompos said. “It was time to go. He wants to spend a little more time playing golf and being a granddad. That’s what his plan is.”
Ed Zink also has a long history of being quoted in the Dayton Daily News. This was from a 1969 story when he was a senior at Beavercreek. Even then, he was described as a "Beavercreek Hero." pic.twitter.com/oXJDiILTyc
— David Jablonski (@DavidPJablonski) May 16, 2021
Zink is a 1970 graduate of Beavercreek High School and the University of Dayton. As a fullback, he was the Dayton football MVP in 1973. In 2003, he told the Dayton Daily News he wanted to be the head football coach at Beavercreek but saw openings for the sophomore boys basketball coach and the varsity girls basketball coach.
“I just wanted to coach,” he said then. “I figured I’d coach the girls a couple years at the most. But it started taking more and more time. I was having fun with it.”
Zink coached Beavercreek to state championships in 1995, 2001 and 2003 and to three other final four appearances in 1991, 1994 and 1996. His career record is 810-277. He’s the only girls basketball coach in Ohio High School Athletic Association to win 800 games, and only two boys coaches have accomplished the feat. He reached that milestone in February 2020.
“Great kids and great parents,” Zink said at the time. “You can’t do it without that and the support of the schools. Beavercreek and the kids, parents and administrators have been fantastic. They support us. It’s been a great ride.”
Under Zink, Beavercreek won 21 league championships in the Western Ohio League and Greater Western Ohio Conference, 18 district championships and six regional championships.
Zink is the only girls basketball coach Beavercreek has had since the sport was first sanctioned by the OHSAA in the 1975-76 season. He coached his 1,000th career game in 2018. The gym at Beavercreek High School was renamed Ed Zink Fieldhouse in 2008. He was inducted into the Ohio Basketball Hall of Fame in 2012.
On Twitter, Pompos described Zink as a “a true “old school coach who built and maintained the program the right way. You will be missed.”
Congratulations and huge thank you to longtime Creek Girls Basketball Head Coach, Ed Zink, who announced his retirement today after 46 years as our head coach.
— BCreek Athletics (@bcreekathletics) May 16, 2021
Thank you for all you have done for our program, school district and our community. A job well done. pic.twitter.com/MMIoSX3CpM
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