Steele took over as the men's basketball coach art Guilford College in 1962. His first season with the Quakers, he finished with a 5–20 record. Steele then lead the Quakers to two conference titles, four district championship, and four trips to the NAIA Tournament. During the 1969–70 season, the Quakers won 29 straight games, finishing 32–4 and fourth in the nation.
Carolina Cougars
In 1970 Steele joined the Carolina Cougars of the American Basketball Association as an assistant coach under Bones McKinney. In November 1970, after the Cougars started the season with a record of 17–25, McKinney was dismissed and Steele was promoted to head coach. Steele's record for the remainder of the season matched that of McKinney: 17–25. The Cougars finished the 1970–71 season with an overall record of 34–50, placing sixth in the ABA's Eastern Division and missing the playoffs. After season concluded, Steele moved on to become director of player personnel for the Cougars and was replaced as head coach by Tom Meschery.
High Point
In 1972, Steele became the head coach at High Point University. Among his early players was current High Point head coach Tubby Smith. Steele coached at High Point for 32 years, from 1972 to 2003. During his tenure, High Point won eight conference titles, made one appearance in the NAIA Men's Basketball Championships, and earned two trip to the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. His record at High Point was 457–412. He also served as athletic director at High Point for 26 years, from 1978 to 2003. Steele retired after the end of the 2002–03 season.
Coaching tree
Coach Steele's coaching tree includes Brett Reed, the head men's basketball coach at Lehigh University, who was the High Point associate head coach during the 2001–02 season. Adam Walsh, who is the head men's basketball coach Centenary College of Louisiana, was a student manager under Steele. Players who Steele coached who went on to become head coaches include Tubby Smith, Dave Odom, and M. L. Carr.
Personal life
Steele was elected to the NAIA Hall of Fame in 1987. In 2002 Steele was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. In 2005 Steele was inducted into the Guilford County, North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. In 2007, the Steele Sports Center was opened on the campus of High Point University, named after the Panthers' prolific coach and his wife, Kitty Steele, who was also a coach at High Poin. This facility houses locker rooms, offices and training facilities for 11 of High Point's 16 varsity sports. The men's and women's basketball teams are those excluded from this facility, due to the large amount of office space required for the two revenue-earning sports, as well as the former athletic administration's offices' proximity to the varsity basketball arena floor and locker rooms, which the basketball coaches moved into in April 2007.
