SPRINGFIELD – Missouri State University Director of Athletics Kyle Moats announced today that a ceremonial jersey will be retired on Dec. 10 to honor legendary men’s basketball coach Bill Thomas.

The basketball Bears entertain IUPUI at 7:05 p.m., on Dec. 10 with Thomas’ jersey to be revealed during halftime ceremonies.

Thomas’ legacy on the Springfield campus shaped the landscape of Bears’ basketball for nearly three decades as a player, assistant coach and most notably as head coach of the Bears for three trips to the NCAA Division II championship game. He became the head coach of the Bears in 1964 when long-time coach Eddie Matthews passed away. Over the next 16 seasons, the Buffalo, Mo., native directed Missouri State to eight MIAA basketball titles, more than any other coach in league history.

The Bears won or tied for the conference championship five straight years from 1966 to 1970 and finished second in the NCAA Division II tournament in 1967, 1969 and 1974.

Thomas compiled a 16-year coaching mark of 265 wins and 158 losses, twice was honored as NABC District Coach of the Year and in 1974 was named the College Division National Coach of the Year by the NABC.

He was also a three-year starter at the guard position for the Bears after he came to the Springfield campus in 1950 as a transfer from Westminster College. The 1951 Bears were the MIAA conference runners-up and went on to win league titles the next two seasons. Both of those Bears clubs went through district NAIA playoffs and a grueling five-game endurance test to win back-to-back NAIA national championships in 1952 and 1953.

Thomas was a two-time all-conference selection and gained NAIA All-America honors in 1953.

He later returned to Missouri State as an assistant coach in 1956 under Matthews and was on the coaching staff in 1959 when the Bears finished as an NCAA Division II national runner-up.

Thomas will be the sixth men’s basketball representative to have a jersey retired in his honor at Missouri State, joining fellow coach Charlie Spoonhour, whose jersey was retired posthumously in 2014. Former players Winston Garland (1985-87), Daryel Garrison (1971-75), Jerry Anderson (1951-55) and Curtis Perry (1966-70) have also had their respective jerseys retired by the University.

— MSU Athletics —