Born in Alton, Illinois, Wallace graduated from Jersey Community High School in Jerseyville, Illinois in 1959. After high school, Wallace attended Centenary College of Louisiana and started at forward all three years on the Centenary Gentlemen varsity basketball team from 1960 to 1963. Wallace graduated from Centenary in 1964 with a Bachelor of Science degree in physical education.
Wallace led Centenary in field goal percentage with at least 8 attempts per game (450) as a sophomore in 1960-1961 and rebounding (222 n the season, 85 per game) as a junior in 1961-1962. After graduating from Centenary, Wallace became an assistant basketball coach at Litchfield High School in Litchfield, Illinois under Larry Little. Wallace was also track and field head coach at Litchfield High from 1964 to 1967.
In 1966, Wallace became head coach and would lead Litchfield for five seasons with a 69–59 record and the 1970 regional title.
Wallace completed a Master of Education degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign College of Education in 1968. In 1971, Wallace returned to Centenary College to be assistant basketball coach, again under Larry Little.
He became head basketball coach and athletic director in 1976, then resigned midway in the 1977-1978 season to be associate head coach at Hawaii, again under Little. Wallace remained in this position until 1984.
From 1984 to 1987, Wallace was head coach at Seminole Junior College in Seminole, Oklahoma and left with a 68–36 record, including consecutive 26–10 seasons.
After coaching at Seminole JC, Wallace returned to Hawaii to be head coach. When Wallace took over the program in 1987, it had suffered through four-straight losing seasons, including a combined 11-43 mark during the latter two years. He guided Hawaii to nine of its 12 all-time postseason appearances, including a school-record streak of four straight from 2001-2004.
The Warriors appeared in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Tournament three times under Wallace and were invited to the National Invitation Tournament (National Institute of Technology) on six occasions.
Prior to his arrival, the program had just one National Collegiate Athletic Association appearance and two trips to the National Institute of Technology. Wallace announced his resignation following the end of the 2006-2007 season on December 29, 2006.
