
What year did the Texas Western Miners win the National Championship?
The 1965–66 Texas Western Miners basketball team represented Texas Western College, now the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), led by Hall of Fame head coach Don Haskins. The team won the national championship in 1966, becoming the first team with an all-black starting lineup to do so.
What was the first black team to win the NCAA championship?
1966 Texas Western Champ Roots For Grandson In NCAA Final Four In 1966, Texas Western became the first team with an all-black starting five to win the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Dave Lattin played center, and his grandson plays Saturday for Oklahoma.
What is the Texas Western tournament most remembered for?
The Tournament is most remembered for the all-black starting five of Texas Western defeating an all-white starting five for Kentucky in the championship game. [3] Clem Haskins and Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball program in the Fall of 1963. [4]
How many black players did Texas Western start in the championship?
Texas Western and head coach Don Haskins started five African-American players in the nationally televised championship game-a decision that has gone down as one of the seminal moments in college basketball and sports history. It was the first time a team started five African-American players in the title game.

Has a team from Texas ever won the NCAA tournament?
Forty-eight years after the men's basketball team won the NCAA championship in 1966, UTEP remains the only university in Texas to have a NCAA championship trophy for men's basketball.
Who did Texas Western beat in the NCAA Tournament?
KentuckyIn College Park, Maryland on March 19, 1966, underdog Texas Western College defeats Kentucky, 72-65, in the NCAA men's college basketball final—the first NCAA title for an all-Black starting five.
How many NCAA championships does Texas Western have?
Third-ranked Texas Western (now UTEP), coached by Don Haskins, won the national title with a 72–65 victory in the final over top-ranked Kentucky, led by head coach Adolph Rupp....1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament.NCAA Division I Men's Tournaments«19651967»
Who won the 1966 NCAA Tournament?
UTEP Miners men's basketball1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament / ChampionThe UTEP Miners basketball team plays for University of Texas at El Paso in El Paso, Texas. The team is an NCAA Division I men's college basketball team competing in the Conference USA. Home games are played at Don Haskins Center. Wikipedia
Who beat Texas Western in 1966?
The team won the national championship in 1966, becoming the first team with an all-black starting lineup to do so. The Miners only lost one game, a road loss to Seattle by two points. They won their games by an average of 15.2 points....Roster.#42NameDavid LattinHeight6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)Weight—YearSo11 more columns
What did Bobby Joe Hill died of?
Heart attackBobby Joe Hill / Cause of deathHe retired as an executive with El Paso Natural Gas, and died in 2002 of a heart attack at age 59, the first player from the starting lineup to die. Bobby Joe Hill is interred at Restlawn Memorial Park in El Paso, Texas.
What school is the last undefeated team to win the NCAA Championship?
And the most recent undefeated title came in 1976, at the hands of Indiana. Bob Knight was in his fifth year. In 1975, Knight's fourth season with the Hoosiers, he coached the team to a perfect 29-0 regular season, before falling to Kentucky in the NCAA tournament regional finals.
Who won the NCAA Championship 1965?
UCLA Bruins men's basketball1965 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament / ChampionThe UCLA Bruins men's basketball program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in the sport of men's basketball as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Established in 1919, the program has won a record 11 NCAA titles. Wikipedia
Who won the 1967 NCAA basketball championship?
UCLA Bruins men's basketball1967 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament / ChampionThe UCLA Bruins men's basketball program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in the sport of men's basketball as a member of the Pac-12 Conference. Established in 1919, the program has won a record 11 NCAA titles. Wikipedia
Who won the NCAA basketball championship in 1969?
UCLA Bruins men's basketball1969 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament / ChampionUCLA, coached by John Wooden, won the national title with a 92–72 victory in the final game over Purdue, coached by George King. Lew Alcindor of UCLA was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.
Who won the 1963 NCAA basketball championship?
Loyola Ramblers men's basketball1963 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament / ChampionThe Ramblers defeated Cincinnati 60-58 in overtime to win the NCAA Championship, but perhaps even more important than the victory were the strides the 1963 team made as pioneers in the integration of college basketball by having four black players in the starting line-up at a time when most coaches allowed only one or ...
Who won the NCAA basketball championship in 1974?
NC State Wolfpack men's basketball1974 NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament / ChampionThe NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represents North Carolina State University in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. N.C. State is one of the seven founding members of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Wikipedia
How many Texas teams are left in March Madness?
March Madness: These Texas teams are headed to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The state of Texas is sending seven teams to the NCAA men's basketball tournament. DALLAS — The state of Texas is sending seven teams to the NCAA men's basketball tournament, tying last year's record.
Which team is Texas Western first game against?
The 72-65 victory over Kentucky in College Park, Maryland is considered one of the most important in the history of college basketball, as it marked the first time that a team with five African-American starters won a title game....1966 Championship Team Stats.NameBobby Joe HillGame28FG161-392Pct..411FT97-15911 more columns
What happened to the players in Glory Road?
Eleven of the 12 players on the team are still alive – guard Bobby Joe Hill died in 2002 and coach Don Haskins died in 2008. After a knee injury cut Shed's career short before he played in an NBA game, he went on to coach at UTSA and has been the director of Spurs Basketball Camps for 30 years.
What happened to coach Haskins in 1997?
He was admitted to the Naismith 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.
Where did Texas Western players come from?
Texas Western’s players came from all over the country to El Paso, Texas. Three were from New York; two from El Paso; and two from Gary, Indiana. They came from the inner cities of Detroit and Houston, and from rural areas in Missouri and Kansas. In a 1991 Sports Illustrated article commemorating the 25th anniversary of the game, ...
What was the first NCAA championship game?
The 1966 NCAA championship game between Texas Western and Kentucky was the first title matchup featuring an all-black lineup against an all-white lineup. While the game was historic in that regard, it wasn't until afterwards that its cultural impact was felt. By Jon Solomon. Feb 26, 2016 at 5:57 pm ET 8 min read.
What movie did Don Haskins tell his team to play only blacks?
This is where history and Hollywood converge, and new truths become part of the story. In “Glory Road,” the 2006 Disney movie about Texas Western, Miners coach Don Haskins tells his team the day before the championship that he will play only blacks the next night to make a social statement. Haskins, who died in 2008, said he wasn’t trying to make a social statement but simply starting his best players.
Who was the president of Texas Western in 2006?
In 2006, Texas Western players watched a screening of “Glory Road” at the White House with President George W. Bush. “But that wasn’t the same thing as President (Lyndon) Johnson),” Cager said. “I was very disappointed we didn’t go to the White House or Ed Sullivan.
Who was the Texas Western player who congratulated the Miners?
Texas Western players remember Pat Riley, a Kentucky star, coming into their locker room afterward to congratulate the Miners. “That was exciting for him to do that,” Armstrong said. “I know we didn’t approach the game thinking about race, and I don’t think the Kentucky team approached it as a racial game either.”.
Is Texas Western basketball in El Paso?
The team was presented with keys to the city of El Paso. A couple weeks ago, some Texas Western players returned to Cole Field House for the first time since 1966. Basketball is long gone from Cole, which was built for boxing, became one of the most storied basketball arenas, and now is transitioning into a football indoor practice facility.
Was Texas Western a race?
After Texas Western’s 72-65 victory over Kentucky, there was virtually no mention in the media about race. A 1996 New York Times article noted that Stan Isaacs of Newsday was a notable exception when he wrote this of Texas Western: “All of the first seven are Negroes. That shouldn’t be significant one way or the other, except that many people make it noteworthy with snickers about the ethnic makeup of the team.”
When was the Texas Western national championship?
March 19, 2020, is the 54th anniversary of Texas Western's historic national championship when the school out of El Paso knocked off an Adolph Rupp coached Kentucky team 72-65 in 1966. Texas Western and head coach Don Haskins started five African-American players in the nationally televised championship game — a decision ...
Is Texas Western a No. 1 seed?
Texas Western's national championship run is a No. 1 seed in our Best March Madness moments of all-time bracket. Fans can vote on each matchup on Twitter and winners will advance to the next round.
Did the NCAA cancel the 2020 tournament?
NCAA's VP walks Andy Katz through their decision to cancel 2020's NCAA tournament. "Obviously the historical context of this was unbelievable," Dan Wetzel, author of "Glory Road," a book he wrote alongside Don Haskins about he 1966 Texas Western team, told Andy Katz on the latest edition of March Madness 365.
What was the significance of the 1966 NCAA basketball championship game?
This game, according to many sports observers, forever changed major college basketball. The Miners’ unexpected victory demonstrated that African American players had the skill to control the game as well as a white team, and ultimately better than the best white team.
What did the Miners win in college basketball?
The Miners’ unexpected victory demonstrated that African American players had the skill to control the game as well as a white team, and ultimately better than the best white team.
Why was the Miners game a watershed event?
However, Haskins understood the pressure his team faced and sent in his best players, all African Americans. At first, Kentucky gained the advantage, but soon the Miners captured the lead during the first half and ended the final quarter with a Miner 72-65 win. This victory, according to sports writer and historian Charles Martin, “was a watershed event” because it encouraged other schools to recruit African American players.
How many black players were in Texas Western?
Of Texas Western's seven black players -- the Miners also had four whites and an Hispanic, none of whom played that night -- four graduated. The other three came within a semester of their degrees and have not suffered because of it: David Lattin is an executive with a Houston liquor distributor.
Who did Rupp take a pass from in the Texas Western game?
On the Miners' second possession, he took a pass from Bobby Joe Hill and, as Haskins had suggested, slammed a forceful dunk over Kentucky's Riley.
Who is the Arkansas coach who played for Haskins?
If basketball ever took a turn, that was it," said Nolan Richardson, the Arkansas coach who played for Haskins at Texas Western. Texas Western, an independent from remote El Paso, was little known outside the Southwest despite its 27-1 record and its No.3 ranking.
Who drives the lane for Texas Western?
Texas Western's Bobby Joe Hill drives the lane against Kentucky. Then history steps into the picture. Walking toward the red "M" at center court, in their orange uniforms and white Converse All-Stars, are the five starters for Texas Western. They are all black.
Who called Texas Western players loose-jointed ragamuffins?
Writing a decade later in his book, "Sports in America", James Michener characterized the game as "one of the most wretched (stories) in the history of American sports. He called the Texas Western players "loose-jointed ragamuffins. Hopelessly outclassed (by Rupp's pristine Kentucky program)." That, again, was nearly opposite the reality.
Who coached the Miners in the 1960s?
Don Haskins coached the Miners to 719 wins and the 1966 national championship. While blacks couldn't play at most Southern and Southwestern schools in the mid-1960s, Haskins welcomed them at Texas Western, recruiting them from New York City, Detroit and Gary, Ind.
How many NCAA tournaments were played in 1966?
The 1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national men's basketball champion of the NCAA University Division, now Division I. It began on March 7 and ended with the championship game on March 19 in College Park, Maryland. A total of 26 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.
Who were the first black players to play in the Western Kentucky basketball tournament?
The Tournament is most remembered for the all-black starting five of Texas Western defeating an all-white starting five for Kentucky in the championship game. Clem Haskins and Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball program in the Fall of 1963.
Where was the Final Four held?
Final Four. College Park, Maryland. Cole Field House. The Washington metropolitan area and College Park became the ninth host city, and Cole Field House the tenth host venue, of the Final Four. It was the first time since 1956 that the Final Four was held on a college campus. For the first time ever, the tournament was held entirely on college ...