Norm Stewart

Norman Eugene Stewart (born January 20, 1935) is a retired American college basketball coach. He coached at the University of Northern Iowa (then known as State College of Iowa) from 1961 to 1967, but is best known for his career with the University of Missouri from 1967 until 1999. He retired with an overall coaching record of 731–375 in 38 seasons. The court at Mizzou Arena (and previously at the Hearnes Center) is named in his honor.

Early life

Stewart was born in Shelby County, Missouri. He grew up the son of a gas station owner around the small farming community of Shelbyville, and graduated from high school there in 1952. After high school Stewart enrolled at the University of Missouri, becoming a standout in both basketball and baseball for the Tigers. Stewart was a two-time team captain, and all-Big Seven selection in basketball. His 24.1 scoring average per-game in 1956 ranks fourth in school history and earned him a spot on the 1956 Helms Foundation All-American team. It was while at MU he met the love of his life, Virginia (Zimmerley) Stewart. Following graduation from Mizzou, Stewart was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in the 1956 NBA draft, playing one season at forward. He also signed a contract with Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles, pitching in 1957 for the Class C Aberdeen Pheasants, but never played at the big-league level.

Coaching career

Following his brief career as a professional athlete, Norm Stewart returned to the University of Missouri in 1957 to earn his master's degree. He also served as an assistant basketball coach under Sparky Stalcup and an assistant baseball coach under Hi Simmons. In 1961 Stewart became head basketball coach at the State College Of Iowa (now University of Northern Iowa). In six seasons Stewart's Panthers compiled a record of 97 wins, 42 losses, and two conference championships.

On March 10, 1967, Stewart was named head basketball coach at his alma mater. He inherited a program that had only garnered two winning seasons since 1956, his senior year. The Tigers had only finished as high as fourth in the Big Six/Seven/Eight three times since then. He didn't take long to turn the program around. In his fifth year, he led the Tigers to the National Invitation Tournament, their first postseason appearance of any sort since the 1944 NCAA basketball tournament, and only the second in school history. Four years later, the Tigers won their second outright conference title in school history and went to the NCAA tournament for only the second time ever, advancing all the way to the Elite Eight. He reached his peak from 1979 to 1983, when the Tigers won four straight Big Eight regular season titles.

In 32 seasons as Missouri head coach, Stewart had a 634–333 overall record, making him far and away the winningest coach in school history. Stewart's Missouri teams also won eight Big Eight regular-season championships, six Big Eight tournament titles, made 16 NCAA Tournament appearances (including Elite Eight appearances in 1976 and 1994; though the 1994 run was vacated), five NIT appearances, and one National Commissioners Invitational Tournament appearance. Stewart also was UPI Coach of the Year (1982) and Associated Press Coach of the Year (1994).

NCAA penalties and probation

In 1990, the NCAA placed Missouri's basketball program on probation for two years and banned the team from that season's post-season tournaments for major violations of rules regarding recruiting, benefits for athletes and irregularities in academics that occurred under Stewart from 1985 through 1989. The NCAA also imposed limits on the Tigers' recruiting practices and the number of scholarships that could be offered in the 1991–92 and 1992–93 academic years. Two of Stewart's assistant coaches, Rich Daly and Bob Sundvold, were forced to resign over the scandal, but Stewart was able to remain as Missouri's coach. Stewart's legal attorney was future Missouri interim president Steve Owens.

Shortly after the 1994 Elite Eight season, Missouri discovered that senior center Jevon Crudup had accepted thousands of dollars in inducements from a middleman working for agents hoping to sign Crudup if he was selected in the 1994 NBA draft. Missouri didn't dispute that Crudup had received the payments, but contended that it didn't know about them. In 1996, the NCAA largely exonerated Stewart and the Tigers, but forced them to vacate their 1994 NCAA Tournament appearance.

Health issues and retirement

In 1989, Stewart was diagnosed with colon cancer, missing the final 14 games of the 1988–89 season. He underwent invasive surgery and chemotherapy and was able to return to coaching the following season. Stewart's assistant, Rich Daly, took over as interim coach for the rest of the season, but Missouri credits the entire season to Stewart.

The 1990s were a time of both highs and lows for Mizzou basketball, with the highlight being 1994 when the Tigers went a perfect 14–0 in conference play. For that special season, Norm Stewart was named College Coach of the Year by the Associated Press and five other leading organizations. Following another winning 1998–99 season, the Stewart Era came to an end as he announced his retirement on April 1, 1999. As a measure of the growth in the Tigers' stature under his watch, he won four more games in 32 years than the Tigers had previously won in their first 60 years of play. He'd also had a hand in more than half of Missouri's all-time wins as either a player, assistant coach, or head coach.

Although retired from coaching, Stewart continued to keep a busy itinerary of meetings, speaking engagements, travel, and color commentary on Mizzou basketball broadcasts. Stewart is also a member of the council of Coaches Vs. Cancer, a program he founded following his own cancer battle. After collapsing at a Dallas, Texas restaurant in May 2007, Stewart had a pacemaker installed. In late July 2008 Stewart underwent successful open-heart surgery, an aortic valve replacement, at a Columbia, Missouri hospital.

Halls of Fame

Norm Stewart's achievements on the basketball court and baseball diamond were recognized in 1990 as he led the inaugural class of the MU Athletics Hall of Fame. He was again given special recognition by the Hall for his coaching career in February 2008. In 2014 Stewart was inducted into the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame.
His highest honor came in November 2007 as Stewart was inducted into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record

See also

* List of college men's basketball coaches with 600 wins

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Norm
1935 births
Living people
People from Columbia, Missouri
Aberdeen Pheasants players
American men's basketball players
Baseball players from Missouri
Basketball coaches from Missouri
Basketball players from Missouri
Baseball pitchers
College men's basketball head coaches in the United States
Missouri Tigers baseball coaches
Missouri Tigers baseball players
Missouri Tigers men's basketball coaches
Missouri Tigers men's basketball players
National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame inductees
NCAA sanctions
Northern Iowa Panthers men's basketball coaches
People from Shelbyville, Missouri
Power forwards (basketball)
Small forwards
St. Louis Hawks draft picks
St. Louis Hawks players