 Haskins on November 29, 2005, upon the renaming of Glory Road, the street theDon Haskins Center is on, at theUTEP campus,El Paso, Texas | |
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1930-03-14)March 14, 1930 Enid, Oklahoma, U.S. |
| Died | September 7, 2008(2008-09-07) (aged 78) El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1949–1952 | Oklahoma A&M |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1955–1956 | Benjamin HS (TX) |
| 1956–1960 | Hedley HS (TX) |
| 1960–1961 | Dumas HS (TX) |
| 1961–1999 | Texas Western / UTEP |
| 1972 | United States (assistant) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 719–353 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| NCAA University Division tournament (1966) 7WAC regular season (1970, 1983–1987, 1992) 4WAC tournament (1984,1986,1989,1990) | |
| Awards | |
| 2×WAC Coach of the Year (1983, 1987) | |
| Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 1997 | |
| College Basketball Hall of Fame Inducted in 2006 | |
Donald Lee Haskins (March 14, 1930 – September 7, 2008), nicknamed "the Bear", was an Americanbasketball player and coach. He playedcollege basketball for three years under coachHenry Iba atOklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State University). He was the head coach at theUniversity of Texas at El Paso from 1961 to 1999 (the school was known as Texas Western College until 1967). In 1966 his team won theNCAA tournament over the Wildcats of theUniversity of Kentucky, coached byAdolph Rupp. The watershed game highlighted the end ofracial segregation in college basketball.
In his time at Texas Western/UTEP, he compiled a 719–353 record, suffering only five losing seasons. HisMiners won seven Western Athletic Conference championships and four WAC tournament titles, had fourteen NCAA tournament berths and made seven trips to theNIT. Haskins led UTEP to 17 20-plus-win seasons and served as an assistant Olympic team coach in 1972.[1] He was admitted to theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997 as a basketball coach. His 1966 team was inducted in its entirety by the same Hall of Fame on September 7, 2007. A movie was made about him calledGlory Road in 2006.
After college and a stint with theAmateur Athletic Union's Artesia Travelers, Haskins began coaching small-town Texas high schools (Benjamin,Hedley andDumas) from 1955 to 1961. He took a pay cut for a chance to be a college coach, accepting a job offer at Texas Western College—now known as theUniversity of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in 1961.[2]
In the 1950s, prior to Haskins' arrival, Texas Western recruited and playedAfrican American players in a time when it was still common to find all-white college sports teams, particularly in the South.[3] When Haskins arrived in El Paso, he inherited three black players from his coaching predecessor. One of those players, El Paso nativeNolan Richardson, later won the1994 NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament national championship as the head coach atArkansas.
In 1961–62, Haskins' first season as head coach, the Miners had an 18–6 record. The next year they posted a 19–7 mark and made the first of 14NCAA tournament appearances under Haskins. They again reached the NCAA Tournament in1964 and played in the NIT in1965. On numerous occasions, Haskins stated that he believed his 1964 team could have won the NCAA Tournament had All-AmericanJim Barnes not fouled out after playing only eight minutes in a 64–60 loss toKansas State in the tournament.
The Texas Western Miners finished the 1965–66 regular season with a 23–1 record, entering the NCAA Tournament ranked third in the nation in the final regular season AP college basketball poll.[4]
In the first round of the tournament, the Miners defeatedOklahoma City 89–74. In the next round, they defeatedCincinnati 78–76 in overtime. They went on to defeatKansas in double overtime in the Midwest Regional Finals, 81–80, and to defeatUtah in the national semifinals, 85–78.[5]
Facing the top-rankedUniversity of Kentucky in the championship game, Haskins made history by starting five African American players for the first time in a championship game against Kentucky's all-white squad, coached byAdolph Rupp. The Miners took the lead midway in the first half and never relinquished it — though Kentucky closed to within a point early in the second half. The Miners finished with 72 points to Kentucky's 65, winning the tournament and finishing the year with a 28–1 record.[6]
Later asked about his decision to start five African American players, Haskins downplayed the significance of his decision. "I really didn't think about starting five black guys. I just wanted to put my five best guys on the court," Haskins was later quoted as saying. "I just wanted to win that game."[7]
Though credited with advancing the desegregation of college basketball teams in the South, he wrote in his book,Glory Road, "I certainly did not expect to be some racial pioneer or to change the world."
Haskins was never able to duplicate his 1966 success. After winning the 1966 title, his Miners would only win seven more NCAA Tournament games and only survived the tournament's first weekend twice, in 1967 and 1992.
Nonetheless, he is regarded as an important figure in basketball history. Among the players he coached at UTEP over the years were future NBA all-starsNate Archibald,Tim Hardaway, andAntonio Davis. Other UTEP alums moving to the NBA includedMarlon Maxey andGreg Foster. He was also a mentor for several future coaches, includingNolan Richardson andTim Floyd. He served as an assistant coach under Hank Iba in the1972 Summer Olympics inMunich.
A street is named after him in El Paso's East side. In 1977, UTEP moved from Memorial Gym, home of the 1966 champions, to the larger Special Events Center. In 1998, before what would be Haskins' last season, it was renamed theDon Haskins Center in his honor, making Haskins one of the few coaches to have coached at a venue named for him.
Bob Knight was Haskins' fishing partner and one of his best friends. Another good friend,Norm Ellenberger, was former coach of theNew Mexico Lobos.
In 1997, he was inducted into the Oklahoma Sports hall of Fame.
Glory Road, aWalt Disney Pictures film about the then-Texas Western 1966 championship season, was released on January 13, 2006. Haskins is portrayed in the film by actorJosh Lucas. On November 29, 2005, the City of El Paso renamed the street between its two basketball arenas "Glory Road." Adolph Rupp Jr. pointed out that his father had previously used the term "Glory Road" in his farewell speech to his fans and worried that his father would be villainized in the film. However, director Jim Gartner stated that Rupp Sr. would not be negatively portrayed in the film, claiming thatJon Voight, who played Rupp, was careful in his role, seeking not to characterize Rupp as a racist.[8]
Haskins stated his disappointment[9] at the cutting of the movie scenes of his one-on-one games with his boyhood friend Herman Carr, who is African-American. Carr was present in El Paso as a guest for the premiere screening, November 28, 2005. These scenes would have depicted a formative influence on Haskins' game of basketball. Haskins appeared in the movie as an extra by playing a gas station attendant.
Glory Road was produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and was based upon Haskins' official same-titled autobiography, written withDan Wetzel and released byHyperion Books in 2005. A national best seller, it was reprinted five times in its first four months of release and was selected as an "Editor's Choice" by theNew York Times Book Review.
Haskins died at his home on September 7, 2008. He was survived by his wife Mary, sons Brent, Steve, and David, and grandsons John Paul, Cameron, and Dominick. A fourth son, Mark, died in 1994. His sonSteve is aprofessional golfer who began play on theChampions Tour after reaching the age of 50 and won two events on theNationwide Tour during his regular career years. Haskins is buried at the Memory Gardens of the Valley inSanta Teresa, New Mexico.
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas Western Miners(Border Conference)(1961–1962) | |||||||||
| 1961–62 | Texas Western | 18–6 | 5–3 | 2nd | |||||
| Texas Western / UTEP Miners(NCAA University Division independent)(1962–1969) | |||||||||
| 1962–63 | Texas Western | 19–7 | NCAA University Division First Round | ||||||
| 1963–64 | Texas Western | 25–3 | NCAA University Division Second Round | ||||||
| 1964–65 | Texas Western | 16–9 | NIT First Round | ||||||
| 1965–66 | Texas Western | 28–1 | NCAA University Division Champion | ||||||
| 1966–67 | Texas Western | 22–6 | NCAA University Division Second Round | ||||||
| 1967–68 | UTEP | 14–9 | |||||||
| 1968–69 | UTEP | 16–9 | |||||||
| UTEP Miners(Western Athletic Conference)(1969–1999) | |||||||||
| 1969–70 | UTEP | 17–8 | 10–4 | 1st | NCAA University Division First Round | ||||
| 1970–71 | UTEP | 15–10 | 9–5 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1971–72 | UTEP | 20–7 | 9–5 | T–2nd | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1972–73 | UTEP | 16–10 | 6–8 | 5th | |||||
| 1973–74 | UTEP | 18–7 | 8–6 | 5th | |||||
| 1974–75 | UTEP | 20–6 | 10–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1975–76 | UTEP | 19–7 | 9–5 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1976–77 | UTEP | 11–15 | 3–11 | 8th | |||||
| 1977–78 | UTEP | 10–16 | 2–12 | 8th | |||||
| 1978–79 | UTEP | 11–15 | 3–9 | T–5th | |||||
| 1979–80 | UTEP | 20–8 | 10–4 | T–2nd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1980–81 | UTEP | 18–12 | 9–7 | 4th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1981–82 | UTEP | 20–8 | 11–5 | T–2nd | |||||
| 1982–83 | UTEP | 19–10 | 11–5 | T–1st | NIT First Round | ||||
| 1983–84 | UTEP | 27–4 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
| 1984–85 | UTEP | 22–10 | 12–4 | 1st | NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
| 1985–86 | UTEP | 27–6 | 12–4 | T–1st | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1986–87 | UTEP | 25–7 | 13–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
| 1987–88 | UTEP | 23–10 | 10–6 | 4th | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1988–89 | UTEP | 26–7 | 11–5 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Second Round | ||||
| 1989–90 | UTEP | 21–11 | 10–6 | T–3rd | NCAA Division I First Round | ||||
| 1990–91 | UTEP | 16–13 | 7–9 | T–5th | |||||
| 1991–92 | UTEP | 27–7 | 12–4 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Sweet 16 | ||||
| 1992–93 | UTEP | 21–13 | 10–8 | 4th | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1993–94 | UTEP | 18–12 | 8–10 | T–5th | |||||
| 1994–95 | UTEP | 20–10 | 13–5 | T–2nd | NIT Second Round | ||||
| 1995–96 | UTEP | 13–15 | 4–14 | 9th | |||||
| 1996–97 | UTEP | 13–13 | 6–10 | T–6th(Mountain) | |||||
| 1997–98 | UTEP | 12–14 | 3–11 | 7th(Mountain) | |||||
| 1998–99 | UTEP | 16–12 | 8–6 | 4th(Pacific) | |||||
| UTEP: | 719–353 | 567–201 | |||||||
| Total: | 719–353 | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
