UMKC Hall of Fame Spotlight - Lee Hunt
1/2/2009 1:00:00 PM | General, Athletics
by Elyssa Brogdon
In 1986, UMKC began its journey to Division I status and at the forefront was Robert Lee Hunt, former Director of Athletics and men's head basketball coach. While UMKC is where he retired, it was definitely not where his journey in basketball began.
“When I was just very small I used to shoot baskets in the house against the walls; my mother let me do it. I kind of look back on it and wonder why she did,” Hunt recalled.
Once Hunt got a basketball goal in the backyard of the house, he moved his free throws outside, but it wasn't long until his was back inside again, this time on the court.
Hunt played basketball for and graduated from Central Missouri State, and immediately landed his first coaching job at Wellington High School.
“I always knew I wanted to be a coach,” Hunt said. “My freshman year of high school I had to take a citizenship class, and I wrote in my career notebook that I wanted to be a basketball coach.”
Hunt bounced around throughout his coaching career coaching for universities such as CMSU, Memphis State, Illinois, UCLA (where Hunt got a taste of the NCAA Final Four more than once), Alabama-Birmingham, and Mississippi before taking the coaching position in Kansas City. At many of the schools he served under Gene Bartow.
At Ole Miss, Hunt took the position of men's head basketball coach and Assistant Athletics Director in 1982. After being picked to finish eighth in the pre-season polls, Hunt led the Rebels to a 19-12 overall record and a second place SEC finish. As a result, Hunt was selected as the SEC Coach of the Year in 1983 and was awarded the Rupp Cup, which was a namesake of legendary Kentucky coach Adolph Rupp.
During the summer of ?86, Hunt came to UMKC as a consultant, but it wasn't long until there was more in store for him when it came to the ?Roos.
“They called me and asked me if I could be a candidate for basketball coach and Athletics Director, and they made an attractive offer,” Hunt said. “So I came here in the fall of 1986.”
Hunt led the Kangaroos in their first Division I game on Nov. 30, 1987, against Rice in front of 4,256 fans at Municipal Auditorium. The program's first win came in the third game of the season in a victory over Prairie View A&M, and the squad finished the inaugural Division I season with a 9-18 overall record.
In 1989, Hunt welcomed the first of a pair of recruits from Memphis who would go on to become two of the best players in UMKC history. Ronnie Schmitz joined the Kangaroos prior to the 1989-90 season before Tony Dumas joined the squad in 1990-91. Schmitz ended his career with 1,939 career points, while Dumas scored 2,459 points in three seasons in Blue and Gold. Dumas left UMKC after being a first round draft pick by the Dallas Mavericks in the 1994 NBA Draft.
Hunt is the coach behind the best season in UMKC history. With Schmitz and Dumas as his starting backcourt, Hunt guided the Kangaroos to a 21-7 overall record, which to this day is the only 20-win season in school history.
Following seven years as an Independent, Hunt oversaw UMKC as it joined the Mid-Continent Conference in 1994. Following the 1995-96 season, Hunt stepped down from his role as the head basketball coach. He then remained at the University until 1998, when he retired from his post as the Director of Athletics.
Since coming to Kansas City in 1986, Hunt has been a key figure in shaping UMKC Athletics. Even following his retirement, Hunt has been a regular on the UMKC Athletics scene, and by honoring the past, UMKC is recognizing a Kangaroo icon with a spot in the inaugural UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame.
(This is the final piece of a nine-part series featuring the inaugural UMKC Athletics Hall of Fame class.)
Hall of Fame Features
- Bill Frerking - Men's Basketball- Katie Houlehan - Women's Basketball- Robert Russell - Men's Golf- Larry Scheller - Men's Soccer- Ronnie Schmitz - Men's Basketball - Catalina Suarez-Moss - Volleyball - Matthew Voelker - Track & Field - Stan Durwood - Supporter/Friend of Program