DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker tells this story, and I'm gonna do right by it — here's how it went down. Now, before we even get to the championship game, you need to know something about the school at the center of all this. Texas Western College — known today as the University of Texas at El Paso — was the first institution of higher education in a southern state to integrate, with a dozen African American students enrolling in 1955.
That was the ground this story was planted in. Charles Brown became the Miners' first Black basketball player in the 1956-57 season, and under head coaches George McCarty and Harold Davis, others followed him through that door. Then, in 1961, Coach Don Haskins arrived.
He would stay for 38 seasons. And he kept recruiting Black players — because that's who he was recruiting. Here's where the air gets heavy for a moment.
Federal law already prohibited racial segregation in education. Already. And yet, across the South, schools resisted — through laws, through policies, and through the blunt refusal to even play against integrated teams.
The resistance wasn't subtle. It was a wall, and it held for a long time. But the 1965-66 season was something else.
Texas Western's fully integrated basketball squad put together a 23 and 1 regular season record, and when the NCAA tournament came calling, the Miners answered. They beat Oklahoma City, 89 to 74. Then Cincinnati — 78 to 76, in overtime.
Then Kansas — 81 to 80, in double overtime. Friend, that is three games in a row decided by a combined ten points, one of them going two extra periods. They earned their trip to the national semifinals at the University of Maryland on sheer nerve and execution.
They took down Utah, 85 to 78, to reach the title game. Waiting for them was Kentucky. Four-time national champion Kentucky.
And here is the moment that makes this more than a basketball story. In a historic first for a college basketball championship, all five starters for the Miners were African American. Kentucky's entire roster was white.
Coach Haskins, for his part, said he was not trying to make a more profound statement about race — he was simply playing his best players. That's what he said. You can sit with that as long as you need to.
At halftime, the Miners led 34 to 31. And then they went out and demonstrated a superior defense and a disciplined half-court offense, and when it was over the scoreboard read 72 to 65 in favor of Texas Western. At Cole Field House.
The only time in the entire 20th century that a Texas team won the NCAA men's basketball title. After that night, southern universities began actively recruiting African American athletes. The wall came down — not all at once, not without a fight, but it came down.
Texas Western had walked out onto that floor and, in the span of one game, moved something that laws alone had not been able to move. Generations have been inspired by what those Miners did in 1966. One of the most significant wins in American sports.
One of the most significant moments in the Civil Rights Movement. And it happened right here, in a college basketball championship, on a night when a coach played his best players.
What the marker says
Texas Western College (now the University of Texas at El Paso) was the first institution of higher education in a southern state to integrate, with a dozen African American students enrolling in 1955. Charles Brown became the Miners’ first Black basketball player in the 1956-57 season, followed by several others under head coaches George McCarty and Harold Davis. Coach Don Haskins arrived in 1961 for the first of 38 seasons and continued to recruit Black players. Though federal laws prohibited racial segregation in education, many southern schools resisted, particularly in athletics, through laws, policies and the refusal to play integrated teams. Texas Western transformed college sports in the 1965-66 season. Its fully integrated basketball squad compiled a 23-1 regular season record and joined the postseason NCAA tournament. Wins over Oklahoma City (89-74), Cincinnati (78-76, overtime) and Kansas (81-80, double overtime) earned the Miners a trip to the national semifinals at the University of Maryland. After defeating Utah 85-78, they faced four-time national champion Kentucky in the title game. In a historic first in a college basketball championship, all five starters for the miners were African American. Kentucky’s entire roster was white. Coach Haskins said he was not trying to make a more profound statement about race but was simply playing his best players. The Miners led 34-31 at halftime and demonstrated a superior defense and disciplined half-court offense in a 72-65 victory at Cole Field House. It was the only time in the 20th century that a Texas team won the NCAA men’s basketball title. The game was a watershed moment for the integration of college athletics, as southern universities began actively recruiting African American athletes. Texas Western inspired generations by achieving one of the most significant wins in both American sports and the Civil Rights Movement. (2019)