As a basketball player, Robert Corn was a tenacious defender who provided the leadership that enabled Missouri Southern to reach the quarterfinals of the NAUA Basketball Championships in 1978.

Co-captain of the 1977-78 team, Corn helped the Lions finish 27-9 and capture both the CSIC and NAIA District 16 championships.

But that performance as a player pales to what the Benton, Ill., native accomplished as coach of the Lions during the 1999-2000 season.

Corn retired in 2014 following 25 years as the head coach at his alma mater, directed the Lions to a 30-3 record and an Elite Eight win in the NCAA D-II Tournament in Louisville, Kentucky during the 99-00 season. Corn left the program as the winningest coach with 413 career wins. He is currently the director for Intercollegiate Athletics Development for the Missouri Southern Foundation.