| Stu Starner | |
| Birth Name: | Stuart John Starner |
| Birth Date: | 8 April 1943 |
| Birth Place: | Hoffman, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Death Place: | Bozeman, Montana, U.S. |
| Player Years1: | 1962–1965 |
| Player Team1: | Minnesota–Morris |
| Coach Years1: | 1978–1979 |
| Coach Team1: | Minnesota (GA) |
| Coach Years2: | 1979–1981 |
| Coach Team2: | Montana State (assistant) |
| Coach Years3: | 1981–1983 |
| Coach Team3: | Minnesota (assistant) |
| Coach Years4: | 1983–1990 |
| Coach Team4: | Montana State |
| Coach Years5: | 1990–1995 |
| Coach Team5: | UTSA |
| Overall Record: | 194–153 |
| Tournament Record: | 0–1 (NCAA Division I) 0–1 (NIT) |
| Championships: | Big Sky tournament (1986) Big Sky regular season (1987) TAAC regular season (1991) Southland regular season (1992) |
| Awards: | Big Sky Coach of the Year (1986) |
Stuart John Starner (April 8, 1943 – July 17, 2024) was an American college basketball coach. He was an NCAA Division I head men's coach for eleven seasons for Montana State University and the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA).
Starner, a native of Hoffman, Minnesota, played basketball and football at the University of Minnesota Morris, graduating in 1965. After a successful high school coaching career in Wabasso and Richfield, Minnesota, Starner moved to the college ranks in 1978 as a graduate assistant at Minnesota. After assistant roles at Montana State and a second stint at Minnesota, Starner was hired as the head coach for Montana State in Bozeman, Montana in 1983.[1] In 1986, Starner's Bobcats won the 1986 Big Sky Conference tournament as the 6 seed, gaining the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the only team in the field with a losing overall record.[2] The following season, the Bobcats won the Big Sky Conference regular season title behind Conference Player of the Year Tom Domako.
In 1990, Starner took the unusual step of requesting a one-year sabbatical from his head coaching position at Montana State. His request was granted and assistant Mick Durham was named interim head coach.[3] However, Starner surprised the school two months later by accepting the head coaching position at UTSA.[4] Starner spent five seasons coaching the Roadrunners, Starner resigned in 1995 with an 84–58 record at the school. His teams won conference regular season championships in 1991 and 1992.[5]
Starner died in Bozeman, Montana on July 17, 2024, at the age of 81.[6]