As a  6-foot-6 senior, VanDyke led Muskegon Western Michigan Christian to a Class C state championship in 1958, the first for that basketball-rich school. It was the first of four state titles for the Warriors’ head coach Elmer Walcott, a 1988 MASHF inductee.
VanDyke went on to a stellar career at Central Michigan University in Mt. Pleasant, immediately making his presence known. In his first season for the Chippewas, VanDyke grabbed 271 rebounds, establishing a freshman record that still stands today.
He started every game during his four-year career, averaging a double-double in both points and rebounds over that span. More than 50 years later, VanDyke remains third on the college’s all-time rebounding list with 958 – just 20 behind fellow MASHF inductee, Dave Nelson. VanDyke ranks fourth on Central’s all-time list for per-game rebounding average (10.4) and is in the Top 20 in school history for points scored with 1,126 – a 12.2 per game average.

Following college graduation, Vandyke taught for 31 years at Fruitport, where he coached both boys and girls basketball. He was inducted into CMU’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.