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Coaching legend Don Haskins dies

Sun 7th, September 2008

El Paso, TX (Sports Network) - Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Haskins, who helped break racial barriers in the collegiate game, died Sunday at the age of 78.

The El Paso Times reports Haskins died of congestive heart failure.

In 1966, Haskins coached Texas Western to the NCAA championship over the University of Kentucky, which was guided by coaching great Adolph Rupp. The story though was that Haskins made history by starting five black players for the first time in a championship game against Kentucky's all-white squad.

The story of that game, and the magical season, was made into a film called "Glory Road", which was released in January 2006.

"It is a very sad time for all of us," said UTEP athletic director Bob Stull. "Don is an icon of El Paso. He has had a huge impact on the city and the University of Texas at El Paso. Since his retirement, he has remained very interested in our entire athletic program and supportive of all of our coaches. He has been an invaluable resource to everybody in the athletic department. He remains one of the most revered and honored coaches in basketball history. His decision to start five black players in the 1966 national championship game, as chronicled in the movie Glory Road, changed college basketball and the sports world. He will always be remembered for that."

Known as "The Bear", Haskins coached Texas Western/UTEP for 38 seasons, compiling a 719-353 record before retiring in 1999. He suffered only five losing seasons, and retired with the fourth-best record in history. He won seven Western Athletic Conference championships, four WAC tournament titles, had 14 NCAA Tournament berths and made seven trips to the NIT.

Nate Archibald, Tim Hardaway, and Antonio Davis were some of the future NBA star players Haskins coached at UTEP. Haskins also served as an assistant coach under Hank Iba in the 1972 Olympics in Munich.

Haskins was enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997.

"We are losing a national treasure," said current UTEP coach Tony Barbee. "I am very fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know him over the last two years. The information he shared with me was invaluable to a first-time head coach. He is a Hall of Fame coach and a Hall of Fame person. It's sad to think that we're losing someone so special to this community and this university, and a national hero at the same time."

Born on March 14, 1930 in Enid, Okla., Haskins played his college ball at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) from 1949-52, where he was a second team All-Conference selection as a senior. He led Oklahoma A&M to the NCAA semifinals in 1949 and 1951. His coaching career began at Benjamin High School in Benjamin, Texas in 1955.

Where the players come to play and STAY.