MSU Athletics Hall of Fame
1963 Men's Golf Team
The honors for the 2025-26 team induction went to coach Andy McDonald's 1963 men's golf team which not only hosted the first-ever NCAA College Division National Championship that year, but won the event on the final day of the tournament.
To set the stage, the Bears hosted the 72-hole event from June 12-14 at both Hickory Hills Country Club and Grandview Golf Course, now known as Bill and Payne Stewart.
Representatives from 27 participating schools began the event with 18 holes at Hickory Hills on Wednesday. The middle 36 holes of the tournament were played on the par-70 course at Grandview on Thursday, and the championships returned to the par-72 Hickory Hills course for the final 18 holes on Friday.
Sitting in third place and six strokes off the pace heading into the final day of competition, the Bears utilized the 100-degree temperatures to their advantage. Bill Lucas posted a one-under-par 71 in the final round, while Dick Baxter carded an even-par 72. By the time the dust and humidity cleared, the Bears had more than made up their six-stroke differential, putting 11 strokes between their winning score of 1188 and runner-up Aquinas College of Michigan's 1199.
Chico (Calif.) State, which led the field after the first two days, finished in third place with a score of 1202, some 14 strokes behind the Bears. Rollins (Fla.) finished in fourth place (1204), with Worcester (Mass.) Polytech in fifth (1218) and Knox (Ill.) College (1268) in sixth.
The Bears were led by Lucas (75-74-79-71--289) and Baxter (78-73-72-72--295) who finished ninth and tied for 10th, respectively. For their efforts, they were both awarded at-large berths in the NCAA's first-ever University Division Championship in Wichita the following week.
Bruce Hollowell finished 20th, Larry Gooch tied for 21st place, and Jim Wheeler tied for 52nd. John Henage was the squad's alternate at nationals.
As for coach McDonald, it was through his influence that the NCAA instituted College Division regional golf play in 1959 and a national championship for the small-school division in 1963. The Bears hosted six regional meets and the first three NCAA College Division Championships with six straight regional titles from 1959 to 1964.
The Bears won four straight MIAA conference titles from 1962-65. McDonald was the only golf coach MSU had from the time the sport was started in 1934 until he retired in 1969. During that time, he won or shared 17 MIAA golf titles, produced 10 conference medalists, and coached four All-Americans, including Baxter and Lucas in 1963. The Bears would also host NCAA meet in 1964 and 1965, finishing fourth and 11th, respectively.
