Coach Bob Vanatta, the architect of back-to-back NAIA national basketball championships for the Missouri State Bears in 1952 and 1953, died Saturday in Jupiter, Fla., at the age of 98.
Vanatta’s teams captured the imagination of the entire Midwest in 1952 with an unheralded bunch of players who won the Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association title and then overcame injuries and player defections to defeat Central Methodist College in the NAIA District 16 playoffs and take a depleted roster to the 32-team national tournament at Kansas City’s Municipal Auditorium. In the national meet, the Bears beat Chadron (Neb.) State, Indiana State, Morningside, Texas State and Murray State in a six-night span and finished the season 27-5.
http://www.news-leader.com/story/sports/college/msu/2016/10/22/bob-vanatta-dies-98/92608078/