Waltman entered the collegiate ranks after fifteen years as a high school basketball coach in Pennsylvania.
He served an assistant coach on the staff of Bob Knight at Indiana University from the 1981–82 season through the Hoosiers' national championship campaign in 1986–87.
It took just three seasons for Royce Waltman to return the Sycamores to the spotlight, attracting national attention unlike that since the fabled 1978–79 team danced to the NCAA Championship game.
While Waltman will quickly deflect praise for what the 1999–2000 Sycamores accomplished as being due to the diligent efforts of his entire staff, the achievements which he and his program attained certainly merit mention of the bold face, large type variety.
Be it a mid-December, 63–60, victory at Indiana to claim the Indiana Classic Championship or defeating the Hoosiers again – this time in Terre Haute, recording the University's first 20-win season in 21 years, claiming outright possession of Indiana State's first MVC regular-season title over that same 21-year span or directing the Sycamores to consecutive NCAA Div I Tournament appearances for the first time in the school's history, Waltman's dedication, or to use one of his favorite terms – passion – for his program and the game of basketball are nothing short of amazing.
That season also saw Waltman lead Indianapolis to then-school records of eight Great Lakes Valley Conference victories and the championship of the Peach Basket Classic.
In 1995–96 Waltman's squad received the school's first-ever NCAA Division II Tournament bid after finishing 20–8 in the regular season.
Indianapolis recorded a school-record 14 wins in the Great Lakes Valley Conference, and Waltman was selected as the GLVC Coach-of-the-Year.
He earned Indiana Collegiate Athletic Conference (ICAC) Coach of the Year honors in 1990 after leading the Tigers to the league championship.
He led the Tigers to their first-ever NCAA Division III number-one ranking in January 1988, and his winning percentage of .730 is second in the school's history.