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Prior to 1966 African Americans were not allowed to play basketball with Caucasians. That all changed when six African American men, led by coach Don Haskins of Texas Western College, played in the March, 1966 NCAA championship and won. I believe that Don Haskins created significant change for African Americans and college basketball.
Although Don Haskins brought about change for college basketball, it was not without the historical help of Texas Western College. Texas Western was the first college to integrate its undergraduate classes in 1955. Later, Texas Western became the first University in the state of Texas to have the first black administrator. It soon became known for creating opportunities for African Americans. The NCAA win in 1966 symbolized a breakthrough for African Americans in college sports with Don Haskins paving the way.
Don Haskins was born on March 14, 1930. He played college basketball at Oklahoma A&M from 1949 through 1952. Haskins was a second team all-conference player as a senior and played as a guard and forward. In 1949 through 1951 h...
They began to mix the whites and blacks but there was tension in the school. The football team learned how to get along and accept one another, but the rest of the student body was having a hard time. A lot of kids were mad at the white football players for standing up for the black guys and being their friend. Many fights were started. Integration wasn’t such a popular thing at T.C
Earl Lloyd was probably the most courageous player of all time. Some people know him as “The Big Cat” others know him as the first African-American to play in an NBA basketball game with the whites; he changed the way people think and look at basketball and black players and coaches. Earl Lloyd loved basketball from a very young age. Earl had two brothers older than him which was Earnest and Theodore. Earl was very dedicated from a very young age. With his high school team he took them to a state championship and won. After high school Earl went off and took his talents to West Virginia State College. While Earl was there his sophomore year they went 33-0 which is a perfect season. Earl’s team won back to back CIAA conference championships and tournament championships.
Jim Valvano, otherwise known as “Jimmy V”, was a college basketball player, coach, and broadcaster. This paper will cover Jimmy and define his true leadership qualities. Jimmy was an icon in the sports world not only for his coaching ability. He taught the world that leaders need a vision, leaders need to connect with their followers, and that leaders learn from their followers. Jimmy defied the rules and transformed his players into exceptionally good players and even better people. He taught more than basketball to his players and reached outside of his coaching arena to touch the lives of people across the world.
The University of Dayton Men’s Basketball Program. There have been many historical moments with the University of Dayton Flyers Men’s Basketball team, but Mark Weaver recalls the one that meant most to him. It took place on March 24, 1967, in Louisville’s Freedom Hall for the Final Four of the NCAA (National College Athletic Association) tournament against the highly favored North Carolina Tar Heels (Collett 228). This was the third straight NCAA tournament appearance for the Flyers, but their first ever Final Four (Collett 228). It turned out that the Flyers smashed North Carolina, seventy-six to sixty-two.
Bill Russell grew up in an extremely racist time in America in an extremely racist state. Born in Louisiana and raised both there and in Oakland, California; Russell and his family battled the every day hardships that most black people faced at that time. But Russell always had a set of morals and guidelines that he led his life by, many of which he learned from his father, who he says was his hero and biggest role model. These morals revolved around independence and a very classic “ I will not allow anyone to impose their will on me.” (Page 56, paragraph 1) These morals followed and shaped him in his playing and coaching career.
It is even more difficult to be awarded a sports administration position, such as athletic director, when you are African American. Over the years, the percentage of black coaches has slowly risen. That being said, black coaches are seen more in sports such as men’s and women’s basketball, track and field, baseball, and football. There are few to none black coaches in sports like men’s and women’s lacrosse, field and ice hockey. The biggest growth for black coaches over time is seen in women’s basketball.
People do not acknowledge the struggles that African Americans had to endure for them to be treated equally, the way a true American is supposed to be treated. One of the ways they were not treated equally was by not being able to participate in sports with whites. From the beginning of our nation, colored people were highly disrespected and treated as if they were some type of animals, which have no say in what happens to them. They were not given any opportunities and were treated harshly because their skin color was different. Whites were able to practically do anything they wanted, unlike blacks, who were racially discriminated or beaten for no apparent reason. African Americans were among the worst treated races in the US; however, this did not stop them from fighting for the rights that so many had died for. It seemed as if black people would never be treated respectfully, but just like in comic books, there is always a hero that will fight for his people. This hero soon came to the scene and he was fierce enough to change the lives of many people. Most importantly, he broke the color barrier and created a path that would allow others to follow. However, something that was inevitable was the threats and racial remarks they had to face.
Wiggins, David Kenneth, and Patrick B. Miller. 2003. The unlevel playing field: a documentary history of the African American experience in sport. Urbana: University of Illinois Press
Racial Inequities in NCAA Division I College Sports." Graduate School of Education Center (2013). University of Pennsylvania. Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education, 2013. Web.
Glory Road is a motivational underdog story about Texas Western’s 1965-1966 Men’s Basketball team. The film emphasizes how serious racism was during the 1960’s, and focuses on the discrimination the team had to go through along the way due to the simple fact that most of the players on the team were black. Coached by Don Haskins, Texas Western was the first team in history to win the NCAA championship with an all-black team on the floor (Ott). When Coach Haskins was hired to take over the program, he realized that the team he was inheriting was a losing team and was full of weak players. Therefore, he focused on recruiting African-American basketball players from the North in order to have a successful season with great basketball skill (Clark). Haskins was also certain that it would be nearly impossible to recruit the talented white players. Initially, Haskins received a substantial amount of criticism for recruiting black players in a sport where white players were the norm. Interestingly, once the team began to win, his critics became his supporters. It was not difficult to find African-American athletes because they were more than happy to receive a scholarship to play basketball as well as get a c...
Like Robinson, these men paved the way for today’s players and are the reason that the best athletes in the world now play in the NBA.” (Dave Howell, NBA.com, Six Who Paved The Way, Page 1). African-Americans in basketball, more specifically the first 5 players, began to make people realize that African Americans were not foreign creatures, they were actual people. People also began to realize that African Americans make equally as significant contributions to the society and community as anyone else
One of the major stands that were made during a black athlete’s tenure during his or her sport were their statements on racism. Racism in America was an ongoing situation in the 1900’s that seemed to have no resolve before black athletes took a stand. One prime example can be Jackie Robinson who became the first African-American athlete to play baseball in the modern era. Jackie grew up in one of the most racist towns in Pasadena, California and came from a poor family as his parents were sharecroppers and...
Miller, Patrick B. Wiggins, David K. Sport and the color line: Black athletes and Race relations in Twentieth-century America. 2004. The Journal of Southern History 70 (4) (Nov 2004): 990.
The scholars expounds that Black athletes were commodities on the playing field to help win games and bring in revenue to their respected schools. However, the schools were just as eager and willing to leave their Black players behind and dishonoring the player as a part of the team. Therefore, not compromising the team’s winning and bring in profits for the school. Sadly, Black athletes at predominately White institutions (PWIs) who believed that they were bettering the live of themselves and their families members by going to college and playing collegiate sports to increase their post secondary careers. However, these athletes were only “show ponies” for their schools. Unfortunately, Black athletes had allegiance to their school; however, the school turned their backs on the athletes to protect the profit and notoriety of the school and the programs. Money and respect from White fans and spectators were more important to the PWIs than standing up for the respect of their Black players. Racial bigotry in sports was rampant and it was only going to get worse.
Grundy, 173. After the war, athletic programs began to grow with funding and in the early 1950s, African American institutions started to gain acceptance into the athletic associations and tournaments. Grundy concludes with the fact that "North Carolina's black institutions began to realize decades of hopeful talk about using college athletic teams to foster racial respect" (Grundy, 189). In Grundy's epilogue of Sports and Social Change, she reiterated the fact that sports clearly reflected and had a great influence on North Carolinian society since the late nineteenth century.