Newton played basketball and baseball at the University of Kentucky, where he was a member of the national championship-winning 1950–51 Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball team led by head coach Adolph Rupp. Newton returned to his alma mater in 1989 as athletic director, serving in that role until his retirement in 2000. He was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame as a contributor in 2000 and was inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame in 2006. Former Kentucky coach Tubby Smith said of Newton: "I don’t think there’s been a better person in athletics than C.M. Newton. In all athletics, not just basketball. He had the utmost respect from people."