Kevin Kearney’s father was a pro football player for 12 seasons, and a darned good one.

It’s only natural that Jim Kearney hoped his athletic son would follow in his footsteps.

“I just thought I was too skinny,” Kevin said recently, adding that his dad actually was okay with having him concentrate on basketball and track.

Kearney was only a year old when his dad and the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl IV.

“He shared a lot of stories with me as far as what it takes to play at that level,” Kearney said of his father.

Jim Kearney basically told his son he would support any activity that he wanted to participate in, even if it didn’t involve athletics.

“He just wanted me to be happy in whatever I chose,” Kearney pointed out.

He averaged 27 points per game in high school, then went on to be an all-conference player at State Fair Community College in Sedalia, Mo., where he was team most valuable player and led his squad in scoring.

Kearney wound up being team MVP both years at Montana, and was Big Sky Conference MVP and the league’s scoring leader in 1990-91.

He was Montana’s last conference scoring leader until Anthony Johnson accomplished it just last season, and only Delvon Anderson has been named conference MVP since.

That happened the year after Kearney earned the honor.

One thing Kearney didn’t do was stray far from the nest in Kansas City, Mo.

Listen to Kevin Kearney's interview.

After he concluded his basketball career at the University of Montana, he stayed in Missoula for another year to take more classes and complete his degree in sports studies before heading home.

After a year of substitute teaching he landed a job as a program director with the parks and recreation department for the city of Kansas City. He’s been there for 15 years, working his way up through the ranks.

As supervisor of recreation, Kearney currently oversees park maintenance and most athletics-related activities such as basketball and softball leagues.

He also has spent some time coaching basketball at Southeast High School in Kansas City, but had to give that up when his job duties made it impossible, largely due to the recession.

“I’m kind of a hybrid right now,” Kearney explained, saying 50- to 60-hour weeks are not uncommon for him. “Most of the time I’m doing administrative work, but from time to time I am getting back to working with kids.”

It was the chance to work with kids that drew Kearney to parks and rec work, so he doesn’t consider the opportunity to do it again any kind of burden. But there’s no doubt he would like to get back into coaching at some point.

“I like the interaction with kids and teaching (them) the fundamentals of the game,” Kearney said. “Playing basketball at the University of Montana taught me so many little things about the game that I was able to come back to the city and (pass along) to the kids here.”

Kearney stayed involve with basketball for a time, playing in recreational leagues in Kansas City. One was the Bell League which draws, among others, current and former pro players during the summer.

Kearney said a doctor’s threat of a future knee replacement changed his workout regimen from basketball to joining a fitness club and hitting the treadmill, among other things.

Blaine Taylor, then an assistant coach under Stew Morrill at UM, had seen Kearney play in junior college and contacted him about a possible visit.

“When I got up to Missoula, just the environment was different from what I had ever seen before,” Kearney said. “And the people up there were really nice. I seemed to get along with the players really well, (and) the coaching staff was extra friendly.”

The fact that Morrill knew how to play in the post also was attractive to Kearney.

“He taught me so much about how to catch and locate, and little things like working on my drop step,” Kearney explained.

“And Stew knew how to coach me,” Kearney added. “He knew it didn’t take a lot of yelling to get me going. He knew he didn’t have to ride me 24 hours a day. He knew all he had to do was tell me one or two times the things I needed to do and he knew I would get it done.”

Kearney had some memorable games during his career, including UM’s trip to the NCAA Tournament in 1991. But the 1991 Big Sky Conference semifinal game against Idaho State (the Grizzlies won, 109-97) is one he’ll never forget.

Kearney recalls tying the single-game tournament scoring record, but he missed a dunk that would have given him sole ownership of the mark.

The high score also was noteworthy since Montana was a defense-oriented team in those days. In fact, Montana won the championship game 67-61 over Idaho.

“That was kind of an up-and-down game,” Kearney said of the Idaho State contest. “It was a real fun game, too.”

He also remembers something about Idaho.

“They were a real physical team,” Kearney recalled, “down low and in the paint. My first year down in Missoula, they really gave us the blues (the Vandals beat the Griz twice),” so it was real sweet to beat them in the championship.”

Despite a 99-65 loss to Nevada-Las Vegas at the NCAA regional in Tucson, Ariz., Kearney loved the experience.

“I never thought I would play in the NCAA Tournament as a kid, I really didn’t,” Kearney said. “That whole week is kind of a blur to me, but I do remember being able to go watch (the) other teams play.

“I remember watching Steve Smith from Michigan State hit a shot at the buzzer,” he added. “Things like that you just don’t forget, so it was real priceless.”

When Kearney tried to avoid the post-game press conference Morrill told him it would help him to go through the experience.

“You’ve gotta do it, this will help you in life,” Morrill told Kearney. “These things are building blocks for what you’re about to encounter in the real world.”

As far as teammates are concerned, Kearney most appreciated point guard Eric Jordan, because “he knew how to get me the ball.” Kearney also had special feelings for Roger Fasting and center Daren Engellant.

“They really knew how I played,” Kearney explained. “They knew what got me going and how to get me going. Things like that are real special to me.”

Kearney also said he owed a lot to Engellant because his presence in the middle blocking or altering shots and rebounding took some pressure off.

“I could concentrate more on the offensive end and scoring,” Kearney said. “He sometimes would attract double teams and swing it around to me. It just helped me out tremendously.”

Even though he hasn’t stayed in touch with his former teammates, he’s tried to look them up on Facebook and said he would love to attend a reunion of his former teammates “to catch up on life.”

Kearney and his wife, Michelle, have a son, Chase, who is 12.

He described Chase as “a real special kid,” even though he hasn’t taken much interest in sports. Kearney hopes that will change, but meanwhile, he’s proud of how Chase excels academically.

Michelle was someone Kearney knew in high school, and they renewed their acquaintance after he returned from college.

When all is said and done, Kearney said he owes a lot to the University of Montana.

“Me, as a young black man, coming up to a predominantly white school, it taught me a lot,” he said. “It diversified me totally. It made me very accepting.”

Kearney said the UM campus was just the right size for him.

“It was nice, but you weren’t overwhelmed with everything,” Kearney noted. “You could just walk or ride your bike from class to class. The professors were really nice, always willing to help and stay after class to work with me. I needed it at times.

“I have nothing but good memories of the University of Montana.”