One of the most anticipated annual events on the mid-Missouri prep basketball calendar is changing venues.

The Norm Stewart Classic is departing Columbia College’s Southwell Complex and heading across town to Mizzou Arena.

This winter’s event will be the 12th annual basketball showcase with the former Missouri men’s basketball head coach’s name attached to it, starting Dec. 6 and running through Dec. 8.

Stewart never coached a game at Mizzou Arena, he yelled from the sidelines of the Hearnes Center and Brewer Fieldhouse for 32 seasons. However, the court at Mizzou Arena is named in honor of Stewart. A statue of Stewart also stands outside the main entrance.

The Norm Stewart Classic was founded by the late Gary Filbert with “the intention of honoring Coach Norm Stewart by showcasing student-athletes in Missouri and by raising money for the American Cancer Society’s Coaches vs. Cancer program,” a news release in anticipation of last year’s showcase stated.

Stewart began the pilot program for Coaches vs. Cancer while at the helm at Missouri.

“The thing I like is that we have both boys and girls, men and women,” Stewart said last year about his namesake event. “I enjoy seeing the young people come in and play and compete.”

This year’s event will again feature 24 games in 48 continuous hours of basketball, with each contest airing live on ESPN3. The first game of the showcase will begin at 6 p.m. on Dec. 6. The final contest tips off at 4 p.m. on Dec. 8.

Seven Columbia teams competed at the event last year, including the eventual state champion Rock Bridge boys, who won the final matchup against Raytown South.

Sources told the Tribune that as a part of the move to Mizzou Arena, which seats around 14,000 more than the Southwell Complex, teams with national attention will be sought as competitors.

Out of the 48 teams to compete at last season’s Norm Stewart Classic, 46 were from Missouri. The other pair were from Illinois.

Stewart, an 84-year-old Shelbyville native, won 731 games as the Tigers head coach and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2007.

eblum@columbiatribune.com

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MBCA Hall of Fame Inductees

It is time again for the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association (MBCA) Hall of Fame Celebration Weekend in Springfield, Missouri on April 13-14, 2019.  Once again, the MBCA is proud to present the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and Awards and Academic All-State banquet showcasing the top players throughout Missouri.

With a 77-53 win over North Central Central Missouri College on Saturday, February 2, Shelly Ethridge collected her 500th career win and 200th win at St. Louis Community College.  Coach Ethridge is currently in her 10th season as the head coach for the STLCC women's basketball team.  Prior to her time at STLCC, Shelly served as the head women's basketball coach at Southwestern Illinois College and the University of Missouri - St. Louis.  Shelly's coaching career has spanned 26 years and her teams have made five national tournament appearances at the NCAA and NJCAA levels.  The Archers are currently 16-5 and ranked #19 in the latest NJCAA poll. 

Columbia, Mo. — After a storied 31-year career, Columbia College Men's Basketball Coach and Athletic Director Bob Burchard has announced that he will retire following the 2018-19 basketball season.

"Bob has positively impacted thousands of lives over his three decades at CC. He has served as role model and mentor not just to the athletes on his teams, but to countless others," Columbia College President Scott Dalrymple said. "He has earned the respect of his staff members, his athletic peers nationwide, his colleagues across the college, the media, and the community. It seems no exaggeration to say that Bob Burchard is a legend at Columbia College, and beyond."

Burchard, whose career began at Columbia College in 1988, is a member of the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame, the NAIA Hall of Fame and is the only NAIA basketball coach to serve on the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Board of Directors. Under his guidance, the men's basketball team has registered a 781-261 record (as of Jan. 15), good for a .749 winning percentage. He ranks No. 1 among all active NAIA men's coaches in wins and is 33rd all-time among all college basketball coaches in that category. The Cougars have reached the NAIA National Tournament 22 times during Burchard's tenure as coach including a run to the NAIA National Championship game in 2009.

In 2010, Burchard received one of the NABC's highest awards, the Guardians of the Game Leadership Pillar Award. The goal of that program is to focus attention on the positive aspects of basketball and the role coaches play in the lives of student-athletes, in addition to the contributions coaches make to their communities. The Guardians of the Game program emphasizes the four core values of advocacy, leadership, service and education.

The Cougar Athletic Department has also prospered with Burchard at the helm. The program has grown from five sports in 2011 to 18 sports currently. It also took home the American Midwest Conference President's Cup in each of the last two seasons as the top-performing athletic department in the conference. The program also recently registered its best showing in the NAIA Learfield Director's Cup standings in 2018, finishing 12th. As Burchard concludes his service to the college, a national search for his replacement will begin soon.

"Columbia College is a special place," Burchard said. "I will be forever grateful for the opportunity to serve the institution and our students."

In October 2012, Columbia College, along with alumni, colleagues, former athletes and friends joined together to establish the Bob Burchard Celebration of Excellence Scholarship. The scholarship provides support for student-athletes and the Department of Athletics at Columbia College. To honor Coach Burchard with a gift to the Bob Burchard Celebration of Excellence Scholarship, please visit my.ccis.edu/burchard.

Founded in 1851 in Columbia, Missouri, Columbia College has been helping students advance their lives through higher education for more than 165 years. As a private, nonprofit, liberal arts and sciences institution, the college takes pride in its small classes, experienced faculty and quality educational programs. The college, accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, has more than 30 locations and offers day, evening and online classes. Columbia College educates more than 20,000 students each year and has more than 89,000 alumni worldwide. For more information, visit ccis.edu.

LIBERTY, MO - After four decades of service, William Jewell College head men's basketball coach Larry Holley has announced that he will retire following the conclusion of the 2018-2019 season. There will be a formal recognition of Holley's extraordinary career during his final home game, at 3 p.m. on Saturday, February 23, at the Mabee Center.

"I am thankful for the opportunity I've had to work alongside Coach Holley as a coach and administrator," said Athletic Director Tom Eisenhauer. "His love of the game and passion for Jewell is surpassed only by the love and passion he has for his family. I've always admired his uncanny ability to befriend anyone he meets by making a connection with them. I wish Coach nothing but the best in retirement and hope he knows how much he'll be missed around here."

Holley was named the head coach of the William Jewell College men's basketball program in the spring of 1979 and has been a constant on the sideline ever since, leading the Cardinals to unparalleled success. At the helm of the Jewell program, he owns 830 wins, 12 conference championships, twenty-five 20-win seasons, including 14 with 25 or more wins, and topped the 30-win plateau four times. In addition, he has coached 17 players to 24 NAIA All-America selections. He has also led the Cardinals to 14 NAIA National Tournament appearances, including three Elite Eights and four Final Fours.

Off the court, Holley served as a faculty member in the Department of Physical Education for more than 35 years, started the annual tradition of the High School Holiday Classic, which recently completed its 39th edition, as well as the well-respected Cardinal Basketball camps in the summer of 1980, and helped spearhead the start of the William Jewell Athletic Hall of Fame, which has now inducted more than 150 individuals and teams. Perhaps most impressive however, is that more than 96 percent of his fourth-year players have earned a William Jewell degree.

"I have always said that William Jewell was the perfect place for me as a student and it's been the perfect place for me as a coach," said Holley. "This has been my home for 44 of my 73 years. It has been a privilege and honor to coach the Cardinals for the past 40 years."

Over the course of his 48-year career as a collegiate head coach he has won 916 games, making him the winningest coach in the state of Missouri and ninth all-time among men's coaches at all levels of collegiate basketball, having surpassed Bob Knight in February 2018. In addition, he has been inducted into five halls of fame and is a 15-time Coach of the Year, including the Sears/NABC NAIA National Coach of the Year in 1996 and the 2018 Kansas City Sports Commission Coach of the Year.

Holley has been the recipient of the 2011 Earl Smith Award from the Kansas City Sports Commission, inducting him into the Greater Kansas City Amateur Sports Hall of Champions. In addition, he has received three lifetime achievement awards, including the William Jewell Citation for Achievement in 2009, given to alumni for outstanding contributions to their field. In 2014 he was presented with the Gary Filbert Award for lifetime achievement, which is the highest honor presented by the Missouri Basketball Coaches Association, and in 2018 he received the Lambda Chi Alpha's Order of Achievement from the national chapter, the highest honor granted to an alumnus of the fraternity for career success.

A 1967 William Jewell graduate, Holley earned varsity letters in basketball, cross country, and track and field for the Cardinals, and was named the Athlete of the Year as a senior. On the court, he scored 1,122 points and received All-Conference and All-District honors in 1967. Much like he is as a coach, Holley was heavily involved off the court, serving as president of his fraternity, president of the J-Club, vice president of the 1967 senior class, member of the chapel choir, concert and pep bands, Aeons Men's Honors Fraternity, and was the recipient of the Colonel Alexander Doniphan Award voted by the senior class as the man mostly likely to succeed.

Born and raised in Jameson, Mo., he graduated as the valedictorian of his senior class and was involved in numerous activities including basketball, track and field, music and speech.

Holley has three daughters with his late wife, Ann: 1998 William Jewell graduate Lindsay, 2002 Jewell graduate Lauren, and youngest daughter, 2003 Drake University graduate Lacey. Today, he is married to wife Linda, of 10 years, and is the proud grandfather of Reagan, Evan, Brea and Stevie.

"I have been so very blessed to have had numerous outstanding student-athletes in our basketball program along with excellent assistant coaches, supportive administrations, and most of all an amazing and loyal family. I have said on many occasions that I have 'out kicked my coverage' twice with my wife of 31-plus years Ann (and our beautiful daughters and grandchildren) and my wife of 10-plus years, Linda and her marvelous family. I haven't lived a perfect life but a lot of perfect things have happened to me along the way and family and William Jewell tops the list," said Holley.

William Jewell College will immediately begin a national search to identify the next head coach of the Cardinal men's basketball program. Interested individuals should submit an application, resume and letter of interest at jewell.edu/employment.