Texas Western made history on March 19, 1966 when the Miners became the first team in history to win the NCAA championship with five African-American players in the starting lineup.
By beating an all-white Kentucky squad in the title game, 72-65, the Miners contributed to a sea of changes in intercollegiate athletics.
Regarded by many as a key turning point in the civil rights movement in general and in the integration of college athletics in particular, the team’s victory was seen as instrumental in transforming the history of college basketball.
The highly publicized and inspirational 1966 championship game capped an amazing season for Texas Western.
Coached by Hall of Famer Don Haskins and led by Bobby Joe Hill and David Lattin, Texas Western swept through the NCAA Tournament by defeating Oklahoma City, Cincinnati, Kansas, and Utah en route to the championship game.
In 2006, forty years after the Miners captured the national title, the story was made into a major motion picture called Glory ROAD!
The team visited the White House, and was honored at halftime of the 2006 NCAA national championship game.
From The Desk Of Coach Clark:
You never know who you might be in the presence of at an ABA game, until you start to ask questions!
I have been an MC for the AUSTIN BATS ABA Basketball games for some time now after starting the AUSTIN BOOM in 2014.
We were the first team in ABA history to win the SOUTHWEST Division Championship in our first year!
I was also nominated as one the
All-Star Coaches and my team won!
I was then voted coach of the year in the Southwest Division!
Fast forward 11 years later and I am having the honor and privilege of meeting one of the players on the 1966 team that paved the way and changed history!
Not only that, GLORY ROAD is one of my favorite movies of all time!
Nevil’s character in the movie does an amazing job!
If you have yet to see it, it is definitely a tear jerker for sure!
But it’s awesome I never knew the rich history God had allowed him to see and be a part of.
He also played for the Original Boston
Celtics!