An All-American player at the University of Missouri, Stewart was Mizzou's head coach for 32 seasons (1967-99), after coaching for six seasons at the University of Northern Iowa. His teams won 731 games over those 38 seasons, which ranked seventh on the all-time list when Stewart retired in 1999. During his tenure at Missouri, the Tigers advanced to the NCAA tournament 16 times, won eight regular season Big 8 championships and six Big 8 tournament titles. Stewart was also instrumental in the founding of the NABC's Coaches vs. Cancer program.

Radio/TV Broadcaster, University of Missouri