The collection consists of materials assembled by Jim Marking that reflect his professional activities as a basketball coach and educator from the mid twentieth century through the 1970s, with later materials documenting recognition of his career. Instructional content includes undated and dated mimeographed handouts, course outlines for Health, Physical Education, and Recreation courses, examinations and notebooks, and materials addressing ethics, psychology, and physiology of sport. Coaching documentation includes practice notes, drills, playbooks, scouting and recruiting records, weight training programs, scorebooks, and trend analyses in basketball. The collection also contains official programs, press clippings, team photographs, and published articles related to SDSU basketball, including the 1963 NCAA Division II National Championship. Administrative and personal materials include correspondence regarding basketball camps, internal SDSU memoranda, retirement cards and letters, retirement press coverage, obituary material, and documentation of Marking’s induction into the South Dakota Sports Hall of Fame.
The collection documents collegiate and high school basketball coaching practices, physical education instruction, and athletic program development in South Dakota during the mid twentieth century. It offers insight into coaching philosophy, training methods, recruiting practices, and instructional approaches used at South Dakota State University and within the state’s secondary school system. The materials also document Jim Marking’s role in SDSU athletics, including championship seasons, conference competition, and his retirement and later recognition, contributing to the institutional history of SDSU and the broader history of basketball in South Dakota.
