Career
Hartman played basketball and football collegiately at Oklahoma State University with his basketball tutelage under famed coach Henry Iba. After college he played quarterback in the Canadian Football League before becoming a basketball coach. After leading the Coffeyville (Kansas) Junior College basketball team to the NJCAA National Championship with a 32-0 season in 1962, he took his high-octane offense to Southern Illinois University, replacing the successful Harry Gallatin, who had taken the head coaching job with the Saint Louis Hawks.
He led Southern Illinois University into Division I before taking over at Kansas State when Cotton Fitzsimmons left to coach in the National Basketball Association. After his retirement, he worked local television color commentary for Kansas State games, and his former player and assistant coach Lon Kruger took over as head coach at Kansas State.
In 1996, Kansas State fired its women"s coach for National Collegiate Athletic Association violations, Hartman came out of retirement to coach the team for its last seven games, winning three. Hartman died in 1998.
He has a street near Bramlage Coliseum named "Jack Hartman Drive" after him.