
Lonnie Kruse Court
The Gleason Center has been the host site for sub-state basketball contests and the Sterling Invitational, a high school basketball tournament.
With this new court, it needed a name and a name that was synonymous with Sterling College and the rich basketball history on that same court. On Nov. 2, 2013, the court was dedicated and named after the all-time winningest women's basketball coach in Sterling College and in the state of Kansas, Lonnie Kruse.
Coach Kruse has amassed 30 winning seasons at Sterling, compiling a 706-244 record over his 33 years coaching the Lady Warriors Basketball program. Kruse has won the KCAC Coach of the year award 12 times, won the KCAC regular season title 12 times, had made 16 trips to the NAIA National Tournament, 10 trips to the NAIA Sweet Sixteen, two trips to the NAIA Elite Eight, and has been to the NAIA Final Four once.
During his 33 years coaching, he has coached one first team All-American Player, five Second Team All-American Players, two Third Team All-American Players, 10 Honorable Mention All-American Players, 66 First Team All-KCAC players, 2 Second Team All-KCAC players, 53 All-KCAC Honorable Mention Players, 10 KCAC Freshmen of the Year, and 42 Daktronics-NAIA Scholar Athletes.
The Gleason Center atmosphere has been upgraded with the addition of new scoreboards. The scoreboards were made possible through the support of First Bank and JACAM.