Former Missouri Southern men's basketball coach Chuck Williams will be inducted into the Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame tomorrow night (September 22) in a reception at the University Plaza Convention Center in downtown Springfield.
Williams coached the Lions from 1977 to 1989 and left Southern with a 182-180 overall mark, which at that time, was the most wins ever by a Lions head coach. Current coach Robert Corn, a former player for Williams, has since surpassed Williams as the all-time leader in that category.
Williams' first season was his best as the Lions' head coach and resulted in the second most wins in a season at Southern as the Lions went 27-9 in 1977, advancing to the NAIA Tournament in Kansas City. Under Williams, the Lions captured two different CSIC Titles and made appearances in seven different NAIA District Tournaments.
Outside of Southern, Williams led Buffalo High to a pair of state basketball titles. In four seasons as a player at Missouri State, his Bears teams had a 29-game MIAA winning streak, won three conference titles and finished second in NCAA Division II in 1969. In his final three years, Williams averaged 17 points per game, was an All-America team honorable mention selection, and a second team Academic All-American. He's sixth on the Bears' all-time scoring list with 1,687 points.
Williams was an assistant coach for the Bears for six seasons and an assistant coach for the Lady Bears for three seasons. He currently coaches girls basketball at New Covenant Academy in Springfield.
The Springfield Area Sports Hall of Fame was founded in 1987. It honors outstanding athletic achievement in the area or by Springfield-area natives. Its annual banquet raises money for youth sports organizations. So far, it's raised $206,000 for those organizations.
