Shumate brought winning ways to Southeast

Legend has it Ron Shumate, in Cape Girardeau in 1981 to interview for the position of Southeast Missouri State University head men's basketball coach, took one look at ancient, cramped Houck Field House and said to his wife, "Honey, if we can win here, we can win anywhere in America."

And so began the greatest run of sustained men's basketball excellence in Southeast history.

Not only did Shumate win, he won big. And he began by guiding the Indians into the national spotlight during his first season at Southeast.

When Shumate took over, the Indians had just three winning records in the past nine years, had not posted a 20-win season since 1964 and were coming off a last-place finish in the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association.

But Shumate's first season produced a 21-10 record, an MIAA title and a spot in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II national tournament.

That was just the beginning. Shumate led the Indians to at least 20 wins in eight of the next nine seasons, seven more NCAA Division II tournament appearances, and Division II national runner-up finishes in 1986 and 1989.

Shumate is by far the winningest men's basketball coach in Southeast history, with a 306-171 mark from 1981 to 1997. At the Division II level, he went 235-76 in 10 seasons.

Southeast basketball became so big under Shumate that Houck Field House became too small for the growing legion of Indians fans. Ultimately, the Show Me Center was built.

The program became so big that Southeast officials were able to contemplate a move up to the Division I level for the school's entire sports program, which eventually took place.

Shumate coached the Indians during their first six seasons in Division I but managed just one winning record.

And, alas, the Shumate saga had no happy ending. He was fired following the 1996-97 season amid allegations of NCAA rules violations that resulted in the basketball program being placed on probation.