Stephen Kent Yoder (born November 1, 1939) is an American former

college basketball College basketball is basketball that is played by teams of Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. In the Higher education in the United States, United States, colleges and universities are governed by collegiate athle ...

coach. He served as the head men's basketball coach at

Ball State University Ball State University (Ball State or BSU) is a public research university in Muncie, Indiana, United States. The university has three off-campus centers in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, and Fishers, Indiana. The university is composed of seven aca ...

from 1977 to 1982 and the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

from 1982 to 1992, compiling career college basketball coaching record of 205–227. Yoder most recently served as director of operations for the

Houston Cougars men's basketball The Houston Cougars men's basketball team represents the University of Houston in Houston, Texas, in National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Division I (NCAA), Division I men's College basketball, basketball competition. They compete as mem ...

team.

Background

Yoder is a native of

Plymouth, Indiana Plymouth is a city and the county seat of Marshall County, Indiana, United States. The population is 10,214 in the 2020 census. Plymouth was the site of the first retail outlet of defunct U.S. retailer Montgomery Ward in 1926. History Earl ...

and 1958 graduate of Plymouth High School. He attended then NAIA-member

Illinois Wesleyan University Illinois Wesleyan University is a private liberal arts college in Bloomington, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1850, the central portion of the present campus was acquired in 1854 with the first building erected in 1856. History The in ...

on a basketball and baseball scholarship winning four letters in baseball and two in basketball before graduating in 1962. He received his master's degree from University of Saint Francis, then called Saint Francis College, in

Fort Wayne, Indiana Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 census ...

in 1970.

Career

He started his coaching career at

Glen Ellyn, Illinois Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. A suburb located due west of downtown Chicago, the village has a population of 28,846 as of the 2020 Census. History Glen Ellyn, like the neighboring town to the east, Lomba ...

junior high school, and in 1965 took an assistant's position in basketball at Plymouth, Indiana. He became head coach at Plymouth in 1967 and proceeded to guide the school to three conference titles, three sectional crowns, a pair of regional titles, and two finishes among the top ten teams in state rankings over a six-year period. Yoder was named Indiana's District One Coach of the Year in 1973 and he then accepted a job as assistant coach at

Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...

. He returned to Indiana in 1975 as head coach at Mishawaka's

Penn High School Penn High School is a public high school located in Mishawaka, Indiana, United States, near South Bend. It is the only high school in the Penn-Harris-Madison (PHM) School Corporation. The district includes all of Osceola and portions of Gr ...

. He then became assistant basketball coach at

in 1976 and a year later became head coach at the school. Yoder was head coach at Ball State from 1977–78 to 1981–82, compiling a record of 77–62. He was named the

Mid-American Conference The Mid-American Conference (MAC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference with a membership base in the Great Lakes region (North America), Great Lakes region that stretches from Western New York to Illinois. Its members co ...

Coach of the Year for both the 1980–81 and 1981–82 seasons. The 1980–81 Ball State team shared the MAC title with three other schools and gained an NCAA tournament berth by winning the conference's post-season tournament. Ball State compiled an overall 17–11 record during the 1981–82 season including a 12–4 conference record that gave them the MAC championship. The Cardinals lost to

Northern Illinois University Northern Illinois University (NIU) is a public research university in DeKalb, Illinois, United States. It was founded as "Northern Illinois State Normal School" in 1895 by Illinois Governor John P. Altgeld, initially to provide the state with c ...

79–75 in overtime in the MAC post-season tournament title game with the winner advancing to the NCAA meet. In 1982, he left for

, where he coached the Badgers until 1992. He compiled a record of 128–165 and led the Badgers to the

National Invitation Tournament The National Invitation Tournament (NIT) is an annual men's college basketball tournament operated by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Since 2023, all rounds of the tournament are played at various sites across the country whi ...

in 1988–89 and 1990–91 – the Badgers' first postseason appearances in over 40 years. For his accomplishments in coaching the 18–12 NIT team in 1988–89, Yoder was named Kodak District XI Coach of the Year by the

National Association of Basketball Coaches The National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri, is an American organization of men's college basketball coaches. It was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the men's basketball head coach for the Univ ...

as well as Midwest Coach of the Year by

Basketball Times ''Basketball Times'' was an American basketball magazine that was in circulation from 1978 to 2021, and was published by Akers Ink LLC. ''Basketball Times'' published monthly and mainly focused on college basketball. The headquarters was in Matthe ...

. Yoder was forced to resign in February 1992, effective after the season. After coaching, he became a scout with the

Indiana Pacers The Indiana Pacers are an American professional basketball team based in Indianapolis. The Pacers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Central Division (NBA), Central Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), Ea ...

and later the

New York Knicks The New York Knickerbockers, shortened and more commonly referred to as the New York Knicks, are an American professional basketball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of Manhattan. The Knicks compete in the Na ...

Awards

Yoder is a member of the Ball State University Hall of Fame (2001) and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame (2020).

Head coaching record

College

References

External links

Houston profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yoder, Steve 1940s births Living people American men's basketball coaches American men's basketball players Ball State Cardinals men's basketball coaches Baseball players from Indiana Basketball coaches from Indiana Basketball players from Indiana College men's basketball head coaches in the United States High school basketball coaches in Indiana Houston Cougars men's basketball coaches Illinois Wesleyan Titans baseball players Illinois Wesleyan Titans men's basketball players Indiana Pacers scouts New York Knicks scouts People from Plymouth, Indiana University of Saint Francis (Indiana) alumni Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coaches 20th-century American sportsmen Year of birth missing (living people)