One of the notable things that Dana Ford has done in his five seasons as Missouri State’s basketball coach is express a desire to build a bridge to the program’s rich history.
Andy Newton is a part of that proud past. The Springfield native was a starting guard on the 1974 team that finished as the NCAA Division II national runner-up. Newton has taken Ford’s idea and run with it.
The Bears Basketball Network is a membership organization open to boosters and former players with the goal of celebrating the past with an eye on connecting to the current. About 40-45 former players are coming back for a second BBN annual reunion this weekend.
Featured will be the greatest Bears player of all, Curtis Perry. Still the school’s career leader in rebounds and No. 3 scorer — more than 50 years since he played — Perry and others will gather for several activities. Included is a public Meet and Greet at 6 p.m. Friday in the Plaster Student Union Ballroom.
“It’s going to be a great weekend,” said Newton, who talked about the BBN’s growth from a discussion with Ford a couple of years ago. Last year’s inaugural reunion was a private event earlier in the fall and now it’s expanded to a game weekend with hopefully bigger and better gatherings in future years.
The former players, expected to include such notables as Winston Garland and Danny Moore, will be in attendance at Saturday night’s Bears home game against Purdue Fort Wayne. It’ll be a one-of-a-kind chance to cheer for some of the greatest to wear a Bears uniform, all under one roof.
Celebrating the program's past
Ford took time on his radio show earlier this week to thank all of those involved, beginning with Newton.
“Andy Newton has really spearheaded it,” Ford said. “I take the opportunity when I see those guys to let them know how much I appreciate them. A lot of our recruiting efforts boil down to the success that we’ve had with teams prior to ours.”
In today’s ever-changing landscape of college athletics, with the transfer portal leading to churning rosters, Ford said it’s important for his program and players to celebrate those who came before them and “laid it on the line, whether they were two-year junior college players, four-year high school players or redshirt five-year guys.”
There likely will be fewer four or five-year players in the future, just by the nature of today’s college athletics model.
“But if we don’t appreciate guys who have done it in the past, I don’t know how we can expect anyone to do it in the future,” Ford said.
Newton a natural fit to lead the group
Newton seems a natural to connect the old with the new. The St. Agnes High School (now Springfield Catholic) graduate grew up a few blocks from the Missouri State campus and rode his bicycle to McDonald Arena, where he blended into fans handing tickets to ushers.
“That’s how I got to see games,” Newton said. “I remember all those guys. They were my heroes.”
That’s where he saw Perry, Chuck Williams, Mert Bancroft and others from that 1969 national runner-up team. Williams has been helping Newton put this weekend’s event together.
“I think I saw, if not every game that Curtis played in McDonald Arena, almost every game,” Newton said.
Just a few years later, Newton was in a Bears uniform himself — though he spent his first two seasons for coach Bill Thomas sitting on the bench. When his time arrived, he was ready to become the floor leader. Newton remains fourth on the Bears’ career assist list.
“We weren’t supposed to be anything in ’73-’74,” Newton recalled, “but we wound up in the national championship game.”
Newton completed unfinished business
Newton, named to the Missouri State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1988, moved to Cincinnati and has spent the last three decades working in fundraising. He’s always kept close tabs on the Bears, often showing up at road games. He made news last December by completing some unfinished business of his own.
When Newton left school in 1975, just 11 hours shy of a diploma, he used downtime during the COVID-19 lockdown to complete his degree. Fifty years after enrolling at Missouri State, he walked in graduation ceremonies a year ago.
“I always told my mom and dad that I’d do it,” Newton said earlier this week. “I walked last December 17.”
Talk about a guy whose blood bleeds maroon. There seems no one more perfect to lead the Bears Basketball Network.
Membership is open to boosters, former players
Cost of membership is $250 and that includes admission to private events during reunion weekends, like Friday night’s 8 p.m. Evening With Curtis Perry program and a Saturday luncheon. Limited seating remains for those, but Newton encourages anyone interested to give him a call at (513) 607-0921 or email him andyn0053@cs.com.
Those interested in joining BBN also can click the Alumni tab on the Missouri State basketball page online.
“We’re working on developing a private Facebook page for members with interviews, a coach’s corner, monthly updates and those kinds of things,” Newton said. “It’s exciting. We’re looking forward to growing this.”
