Missouri State men's basketball coaching legend Charlie Spoonhour passed away this morning at his family's home in North Carolina, at age 72.
“The entire Missouri State University family is deeply saddened by the passing of Coach Spoonhour,” said MSU Director of Athletics Kyle Moats. “His legacy is one of class, distinction and achievement, and he will be dearly missed by the many lives he touched in his many endeavors.”
Spoonhour received a lung transplant from Duke University Medical Center in 2010 after being diagnosed with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. His health had fluctuated since then with with a number of trips in and out of the hospital.
He coached the Bears from 1983-92 and compiled a 197-81 record while leading MSU to five NCAA Tournament appearances. He went on to coaching stops at Saint Louis University (1992-99) and UNLV (2001-04). He was 373-202 in 19 years overall as a Division I head coach.
Coach Spoonhour is survived by his wife, Vicki, and two sons, Jay and Stephen.
According to close family friend Bob Ramsey, Jay Spoonhour said his father died peacefully this morning surrounded by his family and was able to spend his final moments with them at the family's condo near Raleigh-Durham, N.C. He had returned home from the hospital just a couple of days before.
Arrangements are pending.
Quotes from notable Missouri State University personnel and associates are below:
Paul Lusk
Current Bears Head Coach
"When I think of Missouri State, I think of Charlie Spoonhour. Even when I played in the league, I have always had a great deal of respect for him and this program. He has meant a lot to this university and to college basketball."
Bill Rowe
Former Missouri State Director of Athletics (1982-2009)
"My first year as AD, we hired Coach Spoonhour, and in my mind I knew he was going to be the most ideal candidate we could have. He was the best thing that could have happened to our program. He got us to the (postseason) quicker than I thought he could do and really put us on the map. He loved this area, was always friendly, everybody related to him, and his players loved him."
Doug Elgin
Commissioner, Missouri Valley Conference
“Charlie was an original. He put (Missouri State) on the Division I map. He was a great coach, a great person and certainly a tremendous ambassador for Missouri State University and the Missouri Valley Conference. He had a wonderful down-home sense of humor and was a family member to our staff and the people of the Missouri Valley Conference.”
Cheryl Burnett
MSU Lady Bears Head Coach (1987-2002)
"Charlie is who I consider one of my greatest mentors. He let me sit in on practices every single day, and as a young coach, it was invaluable for me to learn something every day. Many people thought he was a defensive mastermind, which I agree with, but he was amazing offensively. That's where I picked up the motion offense and players playing to their strengths. He was a dear friend and mentor."
Kelby Stuckey
Bears Player under Spoonhour (1985-89)
"He was probably one of the greatest teachers that I ever had the privilege to be involved with. The lessons he taught me helped me, not just on basketball court, but life in general. If I can mean anywhere close as much to people as he did, that’s the greatest thing you can leave other people. He did as great a job as can be done in that respect."
CHARLIE SPOONHOUR, MVC HALL OF FAMER
A native of Rogers, Arkansas, Charlie Spoonhour served as head men’s basketball coach at Missouri State from 1983 to 1992, taking over the program the Bears’ second year in Division I and guiding MSU through its first two seasons in The Valley.
An MSU assistant coach from 1969 to 1972, he was head coach at Moberly (Missouri) and Southeastern (Iowa) Community Colleges and also worked as an assistant at Oklahoma and Nebraska, before returning to Missouri State in 1983.
Spoonhour took MSU to its first Division I postseason basketball tournament appearance in 1986, when the 24-8 Bears played in the National Invitation
Tournament and upset Pittsburgh and Marquette before losing at Florida in the NIT quarterfinals.
That season started a string of eight-straight years of 20-win MSU teams which advanced to postseason play.
The 1987 Bears set a school record for victories in a 28-6 campaign in which they won the Mid-Continent Conference regular-season and tournament titles and earned an NCAA Tournament bid. In the NCAA Tournament, Missouri State upset Clemson and sustained a four-point loss to Kansas in the second round.
In 1988, MSU repeated its league title but lost in the NCAA first round to UNLV, and in 1989, MSU won the Mid-Con regular-season and tournament crowns and lost in the NCAA first round to eventual national runner-up Seton Hall.
In 1990, Missouri State again snagged a regular-season title and took an at-large NCAA bid on the way to a first-round loss to North Carolina.
MSU was the MVC runner-up in its first year in the league in 1990-91 and advanced to the second round of the NIT.
In 1991-92, Missouri State was again the MVC runner-up, but the Bears won the State Farm MVC Tournament -- the only MSU squad to do so -- to advance to the NCAA Tournament but dropped a first-round game to Michigan State.
At MSU, he finished with a 197-81 record and five trips to the NCAA Tournament for nine seasons.
He went on to seven seasons as head coach at Saint Louis University, posting a 122-90 record and three trips to the NCAA Tournament, and a two-plus season run as head coach at UNLV.
After leading Saint Louis to a 23-6 overall record and at-large bid to the 1994 NCAA Tournament, Spoonhour was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association National Coach of the Year.
Spoonhour also has served two stints as analyst on the MVC TV Network.