Tag: Gary Blair

It’s official: Gary Blair is a Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer

Beloved Aggie basketball coach Gray Blair gets enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame

2011 NCAA Champion coach Gary Blair added another Hall of Fame induction to his resume on August 12th, 2023. This time it was for the top spot on the mountain, as he will now forever be enshrined as a member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. From humble beginnings in Oak Cliff, Texas, to becoming one of the winningest coaches in Division I history with 852 wins, Blair is one of the most beloved and respected coaches to roam the sideline of the hardwood.

He gave a great speech highlighting his gratitude for his start coaching women’s basketball and how he would like to see the Hall of Fame expand.

“I am convinced that God led three young women to knock on the door of my office and ask me if I would be interested in coaching girls basketball at South Oak Cliff High School. Here I am 50 years later at the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.”

“We need more representation of women in this Hall of Fame, as coaches, players, administrators, and all of the greats that have ever elevated the women’s game. Gig ‘em. Thank you, everyone”

Congratulations to Coach Blair; he is cemented in history as one of the best coaches in basketball history.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1.

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Blair and Keady enshrined in Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday

Gary Blair and Gene Keady both made key stops at Arkansas as part of their Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame resumes. They were enshrined Saturday night.

Former Arkansas women’s basketball coach Gary Blair and former Arkansas assistant basketball coach Gene Keady were both enshrined in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday night.

Blair coached the women’s program from 1993-2003, leading the program to its only Final Four appearance in 1998.

He posted a 198-120 record in those 10 seasons, along with winning the WNIT in 1999 and making at least the second round of the NCAA Tournament his last three seasons.

Aug 12, 2023; Springfield, MA, USA; Gary Blair gives his speech as he is inducted into the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Texas A&M hired him in 2003 when his contract was not renewed by then women’s athletic director Bev Lewis.

Keady, meanwhile, was on Eddie Sutton’s staff in 1978 when the Razorbacks made their first Final Four since 1945.

Aug 12, 2023; Springfield, MA, USA; Gene Keady waves as he is inducted into the 2023 Basketball Hall of Fame at Symphony Hall. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

He had a large hand in the development of the famed ‘Triplets’ (Ron Brewer, Marvin Delph, Sidney Moncrief) and left to take the Western Kentucky job and was with the Hilltoppers for two seasons before taking the Purdue job.

Purdue was where he made his legacy, as he won 512 games with the Boilermakers during a 35-year tenure and won Big Ten Coach of the Year seven times and National Coach of the Year five times.

Twitter reacts to Gary Blair’s induction into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Twitter reacts to Coach Blair getting inducted into the Hall of Fame

Coach Gary Blair is one of the most beloved coaches to command the hardcourt in Texas A&M’s history.  His most memorable moment came in 2011 when he led the Aggies to a national championship beating No. 9 Notre Dame 76-70. Over the next 11 seasons, he coached his teams to nine NCAA tournament appearances, an SEC tournament title, and an SEC season title.

Coach Blair announced he was going to retire at the end of the 2021-22 season and had somewhat of a retirement tour. He missed the tournament in his final season, but he left a lasting impression on the university and all the athletes he mentored throughout the years. After a few nominations but missing the final cut he was nominated again, and this time he received some good news. Coach Blair was enjoying a day on the golf course when he got the call.

Below listed are the accomplishments listed on the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame website:

 Winner of the 2011 NCAA National Championship with Texas A&M University, Blair went 852-348 (.710) in 37 seasons as head coach at Stephen F. Austin University (1985-93), the University of Arkansas (1993-03) and Texas A&M (2003-22). His 852 victories ranked 12th all-time at the time of his retirement. Blair’s teams earned 23 NCAA Tournament appearances, including a pair of Final Fours (1998 with Arkansas and 2011 with Texas A&M), becoming the third Division I women’s basketball coach to lead two different teams to the Final Four. The veteran Marine, who posted only two losing seasons, was a two-time Women’s Basketball New Service Coach of the Year winner and was a finalist for the Naismith Coach of the Year honors twice (2003, ’07). Blair has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the Stephen F. Austin Ladyjack Hall of Fame (2008), Texas Sports Hall of Fame (2012), Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame (2013) and the Texas A&M Athletic Hall of Fame (2022).

Check out the reactions from Twitter below:

Two former Razorbacks basketball coaches headed to Naismith Hall of Fame

Gary Blair and Gene Keady were both on the sidelines for Final Fours for the Razorbacks.

Gary Blair and Gene Keady made their biggest waves somewhere besides Arkansas, but for long-time fans, the two basketball coaches will always be Razorbacks.

They’re both also going to be Hall of Famers.

Blair, who coached the Arkansas women’s basketball team from 1993-2003, and Keady, who was an assistant with Eddie Sutton from 1975-78, will be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in August, the organization announced Saturday.

Blair led the Hogs to five NCAA Tournaments, including a Final Four in 1998. He left after 2003 to take over at Texas A&M, where he coached until 2022 and won a national title with the Aggies in 2011.

Keady left Arkansas in 1978 for his first Division I head coaching gig that same year with Western Kentucky. After three seasons with the Hilltoppers, he went to Purdue, where he lead the Boilermakers to 17 NCAA Tournaments before his retirement after the 2006 season.

Joining the two coaches are former players Pau Gasol, Dirk Nowtizki, Tony Parker, Dwyane Wade and Becky Hammon and former coaches Gene Bess, David Hixon, Gregg Popovich. Jim Valvano will be inducted as a contributor and the 1976 United States’ Women’s Olympic Basketball team will also join as women’s veterans.

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Coach Blair named as a finalist for the 2023 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class

Former Texas A&M Womens Basketball coach named as finalists for the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame

Coach Blair could probably have his own statue on the Texas A&M campus for what he’s done for the Women’s basketball team over the years. After four almost 4 decades and over 850 wins, and an NCAA Championship he decided to hang it up after the 2022 season.

What makes Gary Blair’s journey into women’s basketball a great story was how it began. After graduating from Texas Tech, he was looking to coach high school baseball in the area but came up empty. He eventually took a PE job at the newly integrated South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas Texas. Soon after he arrived Title IX was passed opening the door for girls’ athletics and Blair was approached to coach the girls Basketball team.

He accepted that opportunity and it became the launching point for how Coach Blair developed into one of the best Women’s basketball coaches in history.  Here is a brief statement on how he viewed his time at South Oak Cliff:

“I loved every minute of it,” Blair said. “It just helped me grow as a man, grow as a coach. I was ready to coach anything, any sport, any time.”

Gary Blair’s teams were known for rebounding and playing tough defense. Those two attributes would serve him and his teams well throughout the years resulting in multiple titles and 20 plus win seasons.  At one point his career consisted of 14 straight NNCA tournament appearances which could have been extended to 16 if not for the COVID year cancellation.

It was a little bittersweet to hear about Coach Blair’s retirement, but Texas A&M AD Ross Bjork perfectly describes how I feel about his impact at Texas A&M and the sport of college basketball:

“Coach Blair is a legend in women’s basketball and college sports,” Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork said. “He has made a transformational impact on Texas A&M University, our athletics program and all of college basketball. His decades long championship-caliber coaching acumen and recruiting ability has transcended many generations of women’s basketball players and his impact will be felt long after he hangs up the whistle.”

I really enjoyed watching Coach Blair over the years and still have the 2011 banner hanging in my office from when he led the Aggies to their 1st NCAA Basketball Title. He is currently, possibly, in every Hall of Fame he’s been eligible for until now and making it into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame would be icing on the cake to an outstanding career.

Contact/Follow us @AggiesWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Texas A&M news, notes, and opinions. Follow Jarrett Johnson on Twitter: @whosnextsports1

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Former Hogs coach Gary Blair to retire after season

National championship winning coach Gary Blair, who led Arkansas to the Final Four, will retire at the end of the season.

Gary Blair, who coached Arkansas to five women’s basketball NCAA Tournament appearances including the Final Four in 1998, announced he will retire at the end of the 2021-22 season.

Blair is the current coach at Texas A&M, where he has been the head man since 2003-04. Blair won the national championship with the Aggies in 2011 and has taken them to 14 straight NCAA Tournaments.

Before his stint in College Station, Blair coached the Razorbacks from 1993-94 to 2002-03. He was 198-120 overall and 54-75 in SEC play.

In the 1997-98 season, the Razorbacks entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 9 seed. They beat Hawaii in the first round, then No. 16 seed Harvard (which had upset No. 1 Stanford) in the second. Blair and the Hogs beat No. 5 Kansas by 16 in the Sweet 16 and No. 2 Duke by five in the Elite Eight.

Blair began his head coaching career at Stephen F. Austin in 1992.