Mark Stratton was named Drury's first Associate Athletic Director for Development on February 1, 2013 after six seasons as the university's only head baseball coach.
Stratton will be instrumental in fundraising efforts for each of Drury's 17 intercollegiate sports teams as well as the newly created Drury Athletic Fund, designed to attract larger gifts for the long-term sustainability of the athletic program.
Stratton previously served as DU's baseball coach since the program's NCAA-II inception in 2007, and never had a losing season among his six at the helm. Along the way, his Panthers won a Great Lakes Valley Conference Championship and earned an NCAA-II regional berth in their inaugural (2007) campaign, one of four times in six seasons his DU squad qualify for the league's post-season event.
Stratton finished his career with a 175-134 record as Drury's baseball coach, following a lengthy and successful career in the same position at Springfield's Glendale High School.
Stratton is a 1977 graduate of Southwest Missouri State University who received his masters from the University of Missouri-Columbia in 1981. He began his coaching career as an assistant to Don Provance at Glendale in 1982, and held that position until he replaced the retiring Provance in 1993.
In 13 seasons as the Glendale Falcons’ head coach, Stratton’s teams amassed a record of 244-154 and won four district and three Ozark Conference titles. In all, he sent 30 Falcons on to college scholarships.
Stratton also coached the Glendale Merchants American Legion baseball squad from 1988-2002, compiling a 421-243 mark and winning a state championship in 1997.
Stratton and wife Gay have been married for 39 years and have four children – sons Brian, Kevin and Chip and daughter Sara, who played four seasons for the vaunted Drury Lady Panthers’ women’s basketball program, along with four grandchildren.
