Career
He was the head men"s basketball coach at Indiana State University. Leading their transition from National Collegiate Athletic Association College Division (now Division II) to Division I and membership in the Midwestern Conference and ultimately the Missouri Valley Conference. He also coached at Washburn University, Indiana University_Purdue University - Fort Wayne (IPFW), at Geneva College.
His last college position was at Nicholls State (Louisiana) where he coached the Colonels from 1981–1990, again leading the school through a transition period from Division II to Division I.
He was coached by two coaches, most notably Hall-of-Famer Pete Newell.
Stauffer was drafted in the 1952 National Basketball Association Draft by the Indianapolis Olympians. While he was the first of Michigan State"s 55 National Basketball Association draft picks, he never played for the Olympians and moved into the high coaching ranks in his home state of Indiana where he coached the Royerton Redbirds from 1955-1959.
He left Royerton to move into the college coaching ranks at the University of South Carolina where he assisted Walt Hambrick and Bob Stevens. He then moved to the University of Oklahoma with Bob Stevens as the top assistant.
He got his first head coaching job with Washburn University 4 seasons later.
After winning a conference championship, he moved up the ranks to Indiana State. After 8 seasons in Terre Haute, he took the job in Ft Wayne. He spent two seasons at Geneva College, leading them to the NCCAA playoffs in each season.
He spent 9 seasons at Nicholls State before retiring to Florida.
