Ken Mink

Ken Paul Mink (born 1935) is an American who, at the age of 73, is believed to be the oldest person ever to score in a college basketball game. Mink sank two free throws for Roane State Community College (in Harriman, Tennessee) in their game against King College on November 3, 2008.

Background Mink, a resident of Maryville, Tennessee, attended Lees College in Jackson, Kentucky, in the 1950s, where he played varsity basketball. His participation on the Roane State team generated worldwide media attention and increased average attendance at Roane State's home games from about 100 to 400. Mink was ruled ineligible to play during the second semester and Roane State was forced to forfeit a game for using an ineligible player. Mink had dropped a Spanish class during the first semester that resulted in the shortage of the 12-hour minimum credit hours. He took a college-approved online course to gain the required college hours and was ruled academically eligible by Roane State. According to Mink, he was "administratively ineligible by the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCC) for the second semester because of a technical requirement regarding Roane State's delayed reporting of an online course. Roane State appealed the ruling, noting that Mink successfully completed a course from Strayer University to achieve the required number of credits for the semester. However, the appeal was denied.

Mike Sutton, basketball coach for Tennessee Tech University, invited Mink to be a walk-on player for the 2010-11 season, but the NCAA told Sutton that Mink had no more NCAA college eligibility because of the 5-4 Rule, which requires NCAA athletes to complete their four years of eligibility in five-year period. After his late college basketball was over, Mink became a Senior Olympics player, winning more than a dozen gold medals for team and individual competition. He was still active as of 2017, winning Tennessee state gold medals in free throw shooting, three-point shooting and free-style (hotshot) shooting. He also served several years as a Tennessee high school basketball referee and high school baseball/softball umpire.

Controversy Wright Thompson of ESPN The Magazine did an in-depth article about Ken Mink called "The Legend of Ken Mink." When researching the article, Thompson found conflicting evidence regarding the alleged prank incident. Thompson contacted Mink's former roommate, team members, friends, and school faculty. At first, Thompson could not find anyone who recollected the prank incident. Eventually, however, one person did corroborate Mink's story, but no one else was identified as having been responsible.

Other activities Mink is also the author of 20 books, including So, You Want Your Kid to be a Sports Superstar and Hoops Dreamer: The Ken Mink Story. He and his wife, Emilia, edit an online travel magazine, The Travelling Adventurer (www.travellingadventurer.com).