 | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 16, 1905 Ottumwa, Iowa, U.S. |
| Died | November 24, 1992 (aged 87) Terre Haute, Indiana, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1924–1927 | Chicago |
| Position(s) | Fullback, halfback (football) Guard (basketball) Pitcher, outfielder (baseball) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Football | |
| 1927–1930 | Indiana State |
| 1930–1932 | Indiana (assistant) |
| 1933–1941 | Indiana State |
| 1945 | Personnel Distribution Command |
| 1946–1948 | Indiana State |
| Basketball | |
| 1927–1931 | Indiana State |
| 1933–1938 | Indiana State |
| Baseball | |
| 1929–1931 | Indiana State |
| 1934–1937 | Indiana State |
| 1942 | Indiana State |
| 1946–1947 | Indiana State |
| 1949–1955 | Indiana State |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 1948 | Indiana State (interim AD) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 68–58–8 (football) 90–58 (basketball) 108–81–1 (baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Baseball 4 IIC (1930, 1946–1947, 1949) | |
Walter E. Marks (February 16, 1905 – November 24, 1992) was an American football, basketball, and baseball player, coach, college athletics administrator, sports official, and university instructor. Marks played football, basketball, and baseball at the University of Chicago. Between 1927 and 1955 he served as the head football, basketball, baseball, and golf coach at Indiana State University, with hiatuses from 1930 to 1931, when he earned a master's degree at Indiana University, and from 1942 to 1945, when he served in the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. Marks was best known for his football and baseball coaching career(s); though his tenure as basketball coach was highlighted by the Sycamores' run to the semifinals of the 1936 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Marks also served as the Indiana State's athletic director. In total, Marks spent 44 years at Indiana State rising from instructor to the Dean of the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, now known as the College of Nursing, Health, and Human Services. He held two degrees from the University of Chicago, a BA and a PhD, and three from Indiana University, an MA, a doctorate in physical education, and a doctorate of education. At his retirement in 1971, Indiana State's home track and field venue was dedicated in his honor. Marks reached the rank of major in the United States Army Air Forces and spent 44 months in the Mediterranean Theater of Operations.