NASHVILLE, Tenn. (TSU News Service) – Dr. Catana Starks, a Tennessee State University alumna who became the first African-American woman to coach an all-men’s team at the collegiate level, is being remembered as a humble trailblazer whose legacy will live on in those 
The history-making golf coach, whose story was made into a movie in which Starks coached the TSU men’s golf team from 1986 until 2005 when
Former TSU golfer Eric Wilhite (1988-92) said Starks was “like a second mom for our entire golf team.”
“I have so many memories and learned a ton of life lessons that I continue to practice today,” said Wilhite. “Her dedication to the TSU golf program was amazing. But her commitment to develop us as men is what I appreciated the most. I am very grateful I had a chance to play for a special person and TSU Legend.”
In 2011, Starks’ story inspired the movie “From the Rough” starring the late Michael Clarke Duncan and Henson, who portrays a fictionalized version of Starks named Cassandra Turner. The character parlays a successful stint as coach of a women’s swim team at a historically black university into a shot at building a men’s golf team. With the availability of black players scarce, Turner scours Europe, Australia and Asia for hidden talent and constructs a uniquely multi-racial team.
Michael Critelli, a producer who helped develop the film’s story, said what stood out most about Starks when he talked to her was her humbleness.
“She was a very humble woman, who was very reluctant to talk about her many accomplishments,” said Critelli. “One of the of the biggest challenges I had constructing her life story for the film was that And it is through others, that Starks will live on, added Critelli.
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Founded in 1912, Tennessee State University is Nashville’s only public university, and is a premier, historically black university and land-grant institution offering 39 bachelor’s degree programs, 24 master’s degree programs, and seven doctoral degrees. TSU is a comprehensive research intensive institution with a R-2 Carnegie designation, and has a graduate school on its downtown Avon Williams Campus, along with the Otis Floyd Nursery Research Center in McMinnville, Tennessee. With a commitment to excellence, Tennessee State University provides students with a quality education in a nurturing and innovative environment that prepares them as alumni to be global leaders in every facet of society. Visit the University online at tnstate.edu.
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