H.R. No. 1545
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Respected college basketball coach Donald Lee
Haskins passed away on September 7, 2008, at the age of 78,
following a notable career in which he not only attained great
success but also helped topple racial barriers in intercollegiate
athletics; and
WHEREAS, The head coach of The University of Texas at El Paso
for 38 seasons, Coach Haskins compiled 719 victories and led his
team to the NCAA championship in 1966; in the dramatic title game of
that season, he became the first coach to start five black players
in a championship contest, and when his Miners defeated the
all-white team from the University of Kentucky, it signaled a
turning point that ultimately led to the desegregation of college
basketball teams in the southern United States; and
WHEREAS, Born on March 14, 1930, in Enid, Oklahoma, Don
Haskins played basketball at Oklahoma A&M and for an Amateur
Athletic Union team before beginning his coaching career at
Benjamin High School in Texas in 1955; after two additional high
school jobs in the Lone Star State, he was hired as the head coach at
UTEP in 1961, when it was known as Texas Western College; and
WHEREAS, The basketball program he inherited was a humble
one, but Coach Haskins wasted little time in transforming the
Miners into a team of national stature; beginning in 1963, Texas
Western made regular appearances in the major postseason
tournaments, and in 1966, it all came together for Coach Haskins and
his players; Texas Western lost just one game all season on its way
to the national championship; the triumph of the team's African
American athletes was a sensation at the time, and it received a
resurgence of interest in 2005, when Haskins chronicled the season
in his best-selling book Glory Road, which was subsequently adapted
into a feature film; and
WHEREAS, In the decades that followed the national
championship season, this legendary coach continued to enjoy
success with the Miners, capturing numerous Western Athletic
Conference titles and frequently advancing to the NCAA tournament;
at the time of his retirement in 1999, he was tied for fourth in wins
among active college basketball coaches, and he has been inducted
into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, the Texas
Sports Hall of Fame, and the Jim Thorpe Association Oklahoma Sports
Hall of Fame; in 2001, CBS Sportsline.com named him the greatest
Division I men's basketball coach of all time; and
WHEREAS, Coach Haskins was known for a gruff demeanor that
earned him his nickname, "the Bear," but he was equally famous for
his sense of humor, his generosity, and his willingness to chat with
everyone he encountered; an influential friend to numerous players
and fellow coaches, he was likewise admired by countless residents
of the city that was his longtime home, and his legacy will continue
to be revered in El Paso and throughout the country for decades to
come; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Donald Lee Haskins and
extend deepest condolences to the members of his family: to his
wife, Mary; to his sons, Brent, David, and Steve; to his three
grandsons; and to his other relatives and many friends; and, be it
further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Don
Haskins.
Chavez
Moody
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 1545 was unanimously adopted by a
rising vote of the House on April 30, 2009.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House