In 1958 after John Brown Jr. reinstated varsity athletics, Sam Starkey was named the the first head men's basketball coach at John Brown University.

In four years as head coach, Starkey positioned JBU as one of the premier small college basketball programs. In 1961, Starkey guided JBU to the Council for Advancement of Small Colleges (CASC) National Championship, and a year later, as a member of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA), he led the Golden Eagles to its first NAIA postseason appearance.