What happened to the 1966 Texas Western basketball team?
The team was eventually inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall Of Fame. On February 6, 2016, the now University Of Texas El Paso Miners held a reunion for the 1966 players at the Don Haskins Center.
Who won NCAA championship 1966?
UTEP Miners men’s basketball
1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament/Champion
A total of 26 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game. 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.
What important contribution did UTEP make to the civil rights movement in 1966?
And in 1966, Texas Western became the first team to start five black players in an NCAA men’s basketball championship game. The Miners’ win over Kentucky is one of the defining moments in our nation’s sports history.
Is Glory Road a true story?
Glory Road is a 2006 American sports drama film directed by James Gartner, based on a true story surrounding the events leading to the 1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship.
Who did Texas Western lose to in 1966?
University of Kentucky
On March 19, 1966, Texas Western College defeats the University of Kentucky in the NCAA men’s college basketball final at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland. This marked the first time an all-black starting five had won the NCAA championship.
What is the significance of the 1966 NCAA national basketball championship?
The Miners won 72–65, claiming the school’s first national championship in men’s college basketball. Their victory challenged assumptions widely held about black players at the time, and major college programs intensified their recruiting efforts towards African-American players in the years following the game.
Why did Texas Western Change to UTEP?
In 1949, the Texas Legislature approved changing the school’s name to Texas Western College to better reflect the school’s increasing number of liberal arts programs and the shrinking proportion of engineers.
What did Texas Western become?
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 year did Texas Western win the NCAA basketball championship?
1966
It was March 19, 1966, the night a team with five black starters made history by winning a national championship. Texas Western College, now UTEP, defeated the University of Kentucky.
Where was the 1966 Texas Western basketball team?
Players, staff and families of the 1966 Texas Western team gathered in El Paso, Texas earlier this year. (UTEP Athletics) Back then, there were very few games on TV.
Who was the coach of Texas Western in 1965?
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.
Who was the starter for Texas Western in 1966?
The starters were Bobby Joe Hill, Orsten Artis, Willie Worsley, Harry Flournoy and David Lattin. The influence that game had on black families across the country was massive, Wetzel said. “There’s just no way any other college basketball game had this impact,” Wetzel said. “Right away, they started taking [black] players across the south.
When did Texas Western win the national championship in basketball?
Texas Western’s (UTEP’s) winning the basketball national championship helped promote the desegregation of athletics in the Southeastern Conference which had its first black basketball player in 1967. *Non-conference game. # Rankings from AP Poll.