Ivy S. Clark
Basketball (1976-78)
Two-time All-Skyway Conference First Team and two-time All-MWC First Team
Cornerstone of Chiefs' back-to-back Skyway Conference title teams
Represented Waubonsee at the Junior College All-Star game
Played professionally in Sweden
Chiefs’ Hall of Famer, the late John McQuade described Ivy Clark as a leader on and off the court, and "one of the finest individuals he ever met." Throughout his basketball playing days and work career, Clark has proven that description to be spot on as leader, mentor and counselor.
A native of Holly Springs, Mississippi, Clark was a two-time All-Conference player in high school before moving to Aurora and enrolling at Waubonsee. An explosive, lightning quick 6’2” guard, Clark was the cornerstone of Waubonsee’s back-to-back Skyway Conference title teams in 1977 and 1978. A two-time All-Skyway First Team performer, he helped the Chiefs go a combined 21-1 in league play those two seasons. Clark averaged 20.5 points and 7 rebounds per game in conference play his sophomore year, and was instrumental in helping Coach Ray Lumpp’s 1976-77 and 1977-78 squads put together a combined 48-17 overall record. Included in that total were wins over top-ranked Lincoln Trail, second-ranked College of DuPage and highly touted Joliet Junior College. Clark went on to represent Waubonsee at the Illinois Junior College All-Star game, back when all 45 Illinois Community Colleges competed in one division.
Clark transferred to Monmouth College, where he earned All-Midwest Conference First Team honors as a junior and senior. He helped propel the Fighting Scots to the conference title his senior year, averaging 18.6 points-per-game and leading the team in rebounding. Clark reached double digits in 37 of 41 games at Monmouth, scoring 20 or more points 20 times. An efficient scorer, he shot 49.4 percent from the field and reached sixth on the Fighting Scots’ all-time scoring list in just two seasons. Overall, as a collegiate player he tallied 1,655 points in 97 career games, averaging 17.1 points-per-game every time he stepped on the court.
After graduating from Monmouth with honors, Clark played professionally for a year in Sweden. He returned to Aurora and began working at the Aurora Education Center as an assistant teacher. Working with students there led him to embark on a 30-year career working at the Illinois Youth Center in St. Charles, engaging with juvenile offenders and at-risk youth as a Corrections Officer. Clark retired in 2012 and went back to work four years later serving as Dean’s Assistant, helping mentor students at Waubonsie Valley High School for several years.
In 2014 he was inducted into the Monmouth College Hall of Fame. Clark and his wife Anita reside in Aurora and have six kids: Candice, Ivy Jr., Morgan, Antonio, Ebony and Chanelle. These days he stays busy as grandpa to six grandchildren.