Wooden, who had led his Indiana State Sycamores to a conference title and an invitation from the NAIA. Vanderbilt Polk coached the Vanderbilt Commodores from 1947 to 1961. There, he won the 1951–52 SEC Tournament. Polk's Vanderbilt teams recorded one losing season in 13 seasons and finished 2nd in the SEC on four occasions. His 1954-55, 1955–56 and 1956–57 squads all finished the season in the Top 20 Associated Press poll. In his 13 seasons as Vanderbilt coach, Polk mined the rich Southwestern Indiana talent fields to build a consistent winner; players such as SEC First Team members Dave Kardokus (1951) and SEC Second team members Billy Joe Adcock (1948–50), Al Weiss (1951), Bob Dudley Smith (1951) and Dave Kardokus. Heart problems forced Polk to resign after the 1960-61 season. When he left, Polk was the leader in wins for the Commodores (197-106 .650) and had won the 1951 SEC Tourney. Six of his players were drafted by NBA teams; Bill Depp – 1961 3rd round Boston Jim Henry – 1959 6th round Minneapolis Al Rochelle – 1957 5th round St. Louis Dan Finch – 1954 Minneapolis George Kelley – 1951 Indianapolis Billy Joe Adcock – 1950 Fort Wayne Trinity Polk recovered quickly from his heart attack and accepted the head coaching and athletic director position at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Polk quickly turned the Tigers into a power, leading them from the depths of the Southland Conference to the title in four seasons; he was named the Southland Conference Coach-of-the-Year in 1967 following a record of 16-6. His 1967-68 team was even better, the Tigers racked up a record of 23-7 and advanced to the NCAA College Division tournament, where the Tigers finished 3rd overall. He was also the NCAA National Coach-of-the-Year for the College Division (today's NCAA Div II) in 1968. In his four years at Trinity, Polk compiled a 70-28 record, a Southland title and a National 3rd-place finish. He was chiefly responsible for the Tigers moving to NCAA Division I classification, however, today they are an NCAA Div III school. Saint Louis Following his successful tenure at Trinity, Polk accepted the head coaching job at Saint Louis University; he was the 16th head coach in Billikens history and quickly turned around the program. In his 2nd season, he led them to a share of the Missouri Valley Conference championship and was named the Conference's