After spending one year attending Waseda University in Tokyo, Masaru Yatabe transferred to Portland State University where he was a top performer on PSU’s NCAA Division II national championship team in 1967 and runner-up finisher in 1968.

He won back-to-back NCAA Division II championships in 1967 and 1968 and reached the finals at the NCAA Division I tournament both seasons. He finished third in DII and fifth in DI in 1966 after earning All-America honors at the NAIA tournament in 1965.

Yatabe had a dual meet record of 45-5-5 and an overall career record of 79-11-5. Two of his losses were in the NCAA finals to Michigan State's Dale Anderson. Yatabe did beat Anderson in a 'revenge' match at the NCAA East-West All-Star Duals in 1968.

He was inducted into the NCAA DII Wrestling Hall of Fame in 1996 and into the Portland State Athletics Hall of Fame in 1999.