EL PASO, Texas — Don Haskins, credited with helping break color barriers in college sports in 1966 when he used five black starters to win a national basketball title for Texas Western, died last Sunday. He was 78.
“The word unique does not begin to describe Don Haskins,” former Texas Tech coach Bob Knight said. “There is no one who has ever coached that I respected and admired more than Don Haskins.”
Haskins was an old-time coach who believed in hard work and was known for his gruff demeanor. That attitude was portrayed in the 2006 movie “Glory Road,” the Disney film that chronicled Haskins’ improbable rise to national fame in the 1966 championship game against Kentucky. The movie, which was preceded by a book of the same title, also sparked renewed interest in Haskins’ career.
During his career, Haskins turned down several more lucrative offers, including one with the now-defunct American Basketball Association, to remain at the University of Texas-El Paso, formerly Texas Western, as one of the lowest-paid coaches in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).
Haskins retired in 1999 after 38 seasons at the school. He had a 719-353 record and won seven WAC championships. He took UTEP to 14 NCAA tournaments and to the NIT seven times, and briefly worked as an adviser with the Chicago Bulls.
As a coach, Haskins became a star early in his career by leading his Miners to the 1966 NCAA championship game, then making the controversial decision to start five blacks against all-white, heavily favored Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp. The Miners won, and shortly after that many schools began recruiting black players.
“He took a school that had no reason to be a basketball giant and made it into one,” Knight said.
Haskins said he wasn’t trying to make a social statement with his lineup; he was simply starting his best players. The move, however, raised the ire of some who sent Haskins hate mail and even death threats during the racially charged era.
“When they won the national championship against the University of Kentucky, that changed college basketball,” Sutton said. “At that time, there weren’t many teams in the South or Southwest that had African Americans playing. There was a change in the recruiting of the black athlete. It really changed after that. They’ve had a great impact on the game.”
Associated Press Writer Linda Franklin in Dallas and AP Sports Writer Janie McCauley in San Francisco contributed to this report.
(Associated Press)
