Longtime Steamboat Springs High School head basketball coach Kelly Meek will be inducted into the Colorado High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in April 2026.

Meek was at the helm beginning in 1974 for 34 seasons, during which his teams won 44 district, league or regional championships and 20 preseason tournaments. At one point, the Sailors won 30 consecutive Western Slope League games — a school and league record. Meek himself was named league Coach of the Year on 15 occasions.

But, it’s not the accolades that Meeks holds dear.

“The best memories are the kids, colleagues and great friends I met along the way,” said Meeks. “My three daughters went to high school here.”

His 544 wins ranks third among the state’s basketball coaches, and second for coaches at one school.

In 2005, SSHS honored Meek by naming the gymnasium in his honor, and he was inducted into the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2011.

Meek retired in 2008.

Prior to taking over as the basketball coach, Meek served as an assistant football coach and head track coach. During his tenure as the track coach from 1973-1984, the Sailors won the state championship in 1975, 1979, 1980 and 1981.

“I just love Steamboat and the high school,” said Meek. “It was an honor to spend my career and raise my family here.”

Nick Slater is the Outdoors and Sports Reporter for the Steamboat Pilot. He can be reached at nslater@steamboatpilot.com or 224-830-2875.