April 1, 2007
Kansas City, Mo. - Legendary Mizzou sideline boss Norm Stewart is a Hall of Famer, yet again. Following 32 historic seasons directing the University of Missouri basketball program to a 634-333 overall mark, it was announced on Sunday that Stewart will lead an 11-member class into the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame on Nov. 18, 2007 in Kansas City.
The National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame is located inside the College Basketball Experience, which is adjacent to the newly-constructed Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City.
"What a great honor for a great coach," Mizzou Head Coach Mike Anderson said. "It's well-deserved and I am certainly excited and happy for Coach Stewart. This is such a great tribute for him and his family."
Stewart enters the Hall of Fame along with fellow coaches Charles "Lefty" Driesell (Davidson, Maryland, James Madison and Georgia State) and Guy Lewis (Houston), former student-athletes Austin Carr (Notre Dame), Dick Groat (Duke), Dick Barnett (Tennessee State) and contributor Vic Bubbas (Duke).
Five other college basketball greats earning recognition as founding class players and coaches are Kareem Abdul Jabbar (UCLA), Phog Allen (Kansas), Adolph Rupp (Kentucky), Henry Iba (Oklahoma A&M now Oklahoma State) and John McLendon (Tennessee State).
"On behalf of the University of Missouri we would like to congratulate Norm, Virginia and the entire Stewart family on this spectacular honor," Director of Athletics Mike Alden said. "Norm has done so much, not only for basketball within the state of Missouri, but nationally as well. His legacy of excellence even transcends athletics. Through the lives he has touched as a coach and mentor, to his efforts in the founding of the Coaches vs. Cancer program, Coach Stewart has left a lasting legacy that everyone in this country can truly appreciate. Congratulations to Coach Stewart and his entire family."
Stewart spent 38 seasons overall as a head coach at the collegiate level, including six years at the University of Northern Iowa. A winner of 731 career games, Stewart ranked No. 7 on college basketball's all-time wins list at the time of his retirement in 1999 and only two coaches had coached in more career games than the 1,106 Stewart directed during his coaching tenure.
Voted the Big Eight Conference's All-Time Coach by both the Associated Press and the Kansas City Star, Stewart led Mizzou to eight Big Eight Conference championships and six conference tournament crowns. Stewart's Tigers produced 28 first team all-league picks, eight first team All-Americans and 29 NBA draft choices. Twice named National Coach of the Year in 1982 and 1994, Stewart was selected the Big Eight Conference's Coach of the Year five times and District Coach of the Year seven times.
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