Dr. Edsel Matthews, a legend of the Ozarks sports landscape and a pillar of the athletic programs at Drury University, passed away on Sunday at age 83.
Matthews leaves behind a deep legacy spanning decades of excellence in athletics and beyond, from his early days as a basketball coach and Director of Athletics at Drury, to his work later as the AD for Springfield Public Schools for 25 years before finishing his career in the top athletic administrative and fundraising roles at Drury from 2003-12.
That legacy will include the many he mentored over the years in key positions as coaches or administrators, like Nyla Milleson, the long-time former Lady Panthers basketball head coach and current Drury Vice President And Director Of Athletics.
“Dr. Matthews was such a pillar in our community in so many areas,” Milleson said. “Everything he was involved with, he made a difference. He was one of the most influential sports figures over the past 50 years, when you look at his body of work at Drury, Springfield Public Schools, regional and state-wide, and with what he did for Title IX in the early years.
“He hired and influenced so many coaches that made a difference for student-athletes. Personally, he had the greatest impact on my career of any mentor. He hired me to coach at Springfield Glendale High School in 1992 and not only gave me a chance but continued to guide and direct me my entire career.”
Matthews, the son of the late area basketball coaching legend Eddie Matthews, was an assistant basketball coach for four seasons under Bill Harding when he first arrived at Drury before assuming the head coach duties for a seven-year run starting in 1971, doubling as the Drury Director of Athletics in 1977-78 as well. His Drury teams accomplished a 120-79 record, including a 29-4 mark and No. 1 ranking nationally in that final season, when his Panthers reached the NAIA national quarterfinals and he earned “National Coach Of The Year” honors.
Matthews stepped aside from coaching duties at Drury after that season to assume the Director of Athletics role at SPS. His assistant coach in his final season, Jerry Kirksey, stepped in and helped guide the Panthers to the NAIA national championship in 1979 with largely the roster he and Matthews had constructed.
Matthews ran the Springfield Public Schools athletic programs for 25 years, but returned to DU to guide the athletic department in 2003, helping the Panthers transition into the Great Lakes Valley Conference and continue to be a force in multiple sports at the NCAA Division II level national level – all the while making sure that Drury maintained the excellence in academics the school and its sports programs have established for decades.
One of his close friends and biggest DU supporters was retired businessman and Drury alumnus/booster Tom Stout, who would work closely for years with Matthews as the head of the Athletic Committee of the DU Board of Trustees.
“He was a great friend and was unquestionably the most consequential presence in the history of Drury Athletics,” Stout says. “He had a tremendous, positive impact on Drury University as a whole. Edsel truly was one of a kind.”
Among Matthews’ many noteworthy and significant accomplishments in his second stint at Drury included raising the funds to construct the O’Reilly Family Event Center, which opened its doors in 2010 as one of the premier NCAA Division II basketball facilities in the country. In order to be able to focus his efforts on fundraising for the massive project, Matthews had moved into a Vice President/Executive Director Of Athletics emeritus role before retiring in 2012.
A great deal of Matthews’ career success was built upon providing opportunities to those who might not been afforded those chances if the decisions were entirely resume’-based … and more often than not, those decisions made him look like a genius with the results his hires produced.
As a former coach himself, Matthews knew what he was looking for … he often spoke of his desire to hire “kid magnets,” or coaches who had the right combination of charisma, confidence and coaching acumen to make young athletes want to be around them and play hard for them.
Two prime examples: When Drury wanted to re-start a collegiate baseball program for the 2006-07 school year, Matthews entrusted long-time area high school baseball coach Mark Stratton to build it from the ground up; in their first season of existence, all the Panthers did was win the GLVC post-season tournament and earn a trip to the NCAA-II Regionals in Akron, Ohio.
“Dr. Matthews mentored me early on in my career at Glendale High School … took me by the side and told me to do the little things and always challenge your (players) to do the same,” Stratton said. “He was correct. Me, and my family, are eternally grateful to have had Dr. Matthews in our lives.”
And then there is the story of Steve Hesser … a long-time, highly-successful Oklahoma high school basketball coach brought to Springfield’s Glendale High who had never guided a college program before. But when Hesser was hired by Matthews in 2004 to coach the Panthers, he quickly helped turn Drury into a college powerhouse – and later, in 2013, an NCAA-II national championship team.
“Dr. Matthews was instrumental in providing us the resources to take our basketball program to another level,” said Hesser, who retired in 2021 as the all-time winningest coach in Drury Basketball history with a 354-145 record in 17 seasons and led the Panthers to the NCAA-II National Championship in 2013.
“He brought me to Springfield to coach Glendale High School before giving me my first opportunity to become a collegiate head coach at Drury. I will forever be grateful and appreciative to Dr. Matthews for the opportunities he provided.”
Count Milleson in that group as well.
Not only did Matthews bring her to Springfield from Junction City, Kan., to coach the Glendale High girls while he was at SPS, but when he returned to Drury as Director of Athletics, he resumed his mentorship of Milleson, the coach of a Lady Panthers’ basketball program still in its infancy at the time. Together, along with senior women’s administrator Barbara Cowherd, they helped DU women’s basketball take the next leap toward becoming a perennial national powerhouse.
And Matthews helped Milleson develop the skills and leadership qualities necessary to, after retiring from coaching, lead the athletics department at Drury just like he once did.
“There’s no doubt I am in the position I’m in today because of Dr. Matthews,” Milleson said. “He has taught me so many lessons in life, and how to lead with confidence. His legacy will live on in so many of us.”
Matthews’ leadership and reach in the Ozarks expanded far beyond the athletic realm, as he was also very active in various civic and charitable organizations – and as a family, with Matthews Coach’s Corral – in the cattle industry, with the Ozark Empire Fairgrounds one of his prime causes of support over the years.
Among his most notable accomplishments as the SPS Director of Athletics was the creation of the Bass Pro Tournament of Champions in 1985, a three-day event featuring top high school boys basketball programs from across the country converging on the Missouri State University campus. His phone call to Bass Pro Shops founder Johnny Morris and his sister Carol Robinson at the time began what has become a staple of the Ozarks’ sports scene; the event still goes strong entering its 40th year this Winter.
Matthews was honored by being one of the inaugural inductees to the T of C Hall of Fame three years ago for his efforts, one of four Hall of Fames that have honored Matthews for his tremendous body of work.
When Matthews left Springfield Public Schools, he not only entrusted the state’s largest school district and high school athletic department with then-Greenwood High School teacher/coach Mark Fisher, but also the Bass Pro T of C tournament director duties that went with it.
Fisher would later follow in Matthews’ footsteps again by becoming Drury’s VP/Director Of Athletics from 2015-2019.
“Dr. Matthews was a visionary and a pioneer in the world of athletics, and not just in Southwest Missouri … but throughout the country,” Fisher said. “He was a wonderful leader and a mentor to so many coaches, administrators and student-athletes.
“We all owe him a great debt of gratitude for those opportunities and for enhancing our careers. We are all better people for having Dr. Matthews in our lives.”
Matthews leaves behind a large and loving family, including his wife of 60 years, Becky, daughters Beth (spouse Chris) and Cheryl (Steve) and son Mark (Brandy) and a combined six grandchildren.
The visitation for Dr. Matthews is scheduled for this Thursday from 9 am to 11 am and will be followed by the funeral service at 11 am at Northside Christian Church, 4902 Highway H, Springfield, Mo., 65803.
