Steve Tappmeyer (born June 9, 1957) served 21 seasons as

basketball coach Basketball coaching is the act of directing and strategizing the behavior of a basketball team or individual basketball player. Basketball coaching typically encompasses the improvement of individual and team offensive and defensive skills, as wel ...

of the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats men's basketball team. Tappmeyer was the longest serving coach for the school and had the most wins (). He served as the head coach for the

University of Missouri–St. Louis The University of Missouri–St. Louis (UMSL) is a public research university in St. Louis, Missouri. Established in 1963, it is one of four universities in the University of Missouri System and its newest. Located on the former grounds of Bel ...

Tritons from 2010 to 2013.

Early years

Tappmeyer was born in

Gerald, Missouri Gerald is a city in western Franklin County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,345 at the 2010 census. History Gerald was platted in 1901 along a railroad line. The community was named after the local Fitzgerald family. A post office ...

, attended East Central Junior College where he played basketball. He was an honorable-mention All-conference as a sophomore. He transferred to

Southeast Missouri State University Southeast Missouri State University (SEMO) is a public university in Cape Girardeau, Missouri. In addition to the main campus, the university has four regional campuses offering full degree programs and a secondary campus housing the Holland Col ...

after his sophomore season in 1978. He averaged 16.3 points and was an honorable-mention All-MIAA as a junior.

Coaching career

East Central College

Tappmeyer was a basketball assistant at

Northwest Missouri State University Northwest Missouri State University is a public university in Maryville, Missouri. It has an enrollment of about 8,505 students. Founded in 1905 as a teachers college, its campus is based on the design for Forest Park at the 1904 St. Louis Worl ...

from 1981 to 1985. He was the basketball head coach at

East Central College East Central College (ECC) is a Public college, public community college with its main campus in Union, Missouri. It also offers classes in Rolla, Missouri, Rolla and Washington, Missouri, Washington. Approximately 2,100 students are enrolled in ...

from 1986 to 1988, where he had a 62–32 record in three seasons and was named the 1986 MCCAC Coach of the Year.

Northwest Missouri State University

In the fall of 1988, he was hired as the

head basketball coach. From 1998 to 2008, his teams won 19 or more games. His teams reached the

NCAA Division II playoffs The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

in 1998, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2007 and 2008 (accounting for all but one of Northwest's post-season NCAA Division II appearances). It was in Elite 8 in 2002 and 2004. His teams won the regular season MIAA in 1998, 2002, 2007 and 2008. They won the MIAA post-season tournament in 1989, 2002, 2004 and 2008. Tappmeyer finished as the school's all-time leader in wins with 408 victories. He won seven MIAA Championships, three regular season titles and four conference tournament titles. He qualified to the NCAA Tournament ten times, with two appearances ending in berths to the Elite Eight (2002 and 2004).. He had a streak of 11 straight seasons with 19 or more wins and his teams surpassed 22 wins in 9 of his final 12 years. He was a four-time MIAA Coach of the year and the 2001 South Central Region Coach of the Year. His teams had a record of 143 wins and only 25 losses at the school's Bearcat Arena during his final 12 seasons. Additionally, he also was the head tennis coach at Northwest for a brief time. In 2014, he was inducted into the Northwest Missouri State M-Club Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was inducted into the MIAA Hall of Fame.

University of Missouri-St. Louis

Tappmeyer was the basketball head coach at the

University of Missouri-St. Louis A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, t ...

from 2010 to 2013. In 2010-11, the team posted a 16-11 overall record, including a 10-8 Great Lakes Valley Conference record, the first winning GLVC mark in program history. In 2011-12, he coached the school to a 19-9 record, its most wins since the 1990-91 campaign. The team finished with a 13-5 Great Lakes Valley Conference record, while winning the West Division title. The school began the league schedule with a 6-0 record for the first time in program history and those six wins were part of a 10-game win streak, the second longest in program history. Tappmeyer also guided USML to their first-ever GLVC Tournament victory, a 71-60 win against Drury in the quarterfinals. He was named Co-GLVC Coach of the Year and the NABC Co-Midwest Region Coach of the Year. In 2012-13, he finished with a 17-10 overall record, including a 10-8 Great Lakes Valley Conference record. On April 23, 2013, he announced his resignation, due to what he called burnout. He accomplished a winning season in each of his three campaigns, which had not been done in the school since the first four years of the basketball program existence (starting in 1966-67). He posted a 52-30 (.634) overall record at UMSL. In 2012-13, the team finished with a 17-10 overall record, including a 10-8 Great Lakes Valley Conference record. In 24 years as a Division II basketball head coach, he had a 460-238 (.660) overall record.

Owensville High School

Tappmeyer, moved to

Owensville, Missouri Owensville is a city in Gasconade County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,757 at the 2020 census. History Owensville was named after early merchant Frank Owens. According to local legend Owens and blacksmith Edward Luster decided ...

to help take care of an ailing family member. From 2013 to 2014, he was the Athletic Director at

Owensville High School Owensville High School, sometimes referred to as Owensville Montgomery High School or Owensville Montgomery Township School was a K-12 Public learning facility located in Owensville, Indiana. History Owensville High School was one of the three hi ...

. In 2015-16, he guided the girls basketball team to a Class 4 third-place finish, before announcing his retirement at the end of the season.

Maryville University

In 2020 Tappmeyer came out of retirement to be an assistant coach for the

Maryville Saints The Maryville Saints are the athletic teams that represent Maryville University of St. Louis, located in Town and Country, Missouri, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sports. The Saints compete as members of the West Division of the Great Lakes ...

at Maryville University in suburban St. Louis. The head coach for the team is Jesse Shaw who had been a player for Tappmeyer 2001-2005 at Northwest Missouri during Tappmeyer's most successful stint at the university when his teams twice made it to the Elite 8.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tappmeyer, Steve 1957 births Living people Basketball coaches from Missouri College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Junior college men's basketball players in the United States Northwest Missouri State Bearcats men's basketball coaches People from Franklin County, Missouri Southeast Missouri State Redhawks men's basketball players UMSL Tritons men's basketball coaches