. 15th seed Troy in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. My weakness is Im not hard enough to fire someone. They put me into the office to work and I had a great year. 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A Dallas native, Blair was the head coach at South Oak Cliff High school from 1973-1980. Blair did the impossible. After the season, the Texas A&M Board of Regents approved a one-year contract extension through 2012, and a $150,000 salary raise to $800,000 annually. Blair and Lewis did not get along, and their professional relationship became even more strained once the Arkansas athletic programs were divided and Lewis became the women's AD. He just mentioned his fiance during halftime of the Ark/Aub game - I know I'm out of touch, but I had no idea he was even divorced, much less ready to get married again! When R.C. This season's basketball fortunes a tale of two Texas A&Ms Ive never fired a person in my life, back to restaurant manager days. Nan drove in from Fayetteville on Friday night in time for the Aggies' first-round NCAA Tournament game against Albany starting 5:35 p.m. Saturday in Reed Arena. She was a nurse at Parkland Memorial who was moving into The Square apartments - Gary's longtime stomping grounds - in Dallas. Texas A&M said nearly 60 of Blair's former assistants or players became head coaches, including six currently at the Division I level: LSU's Kim Mulkey, Texas' Vic Schaefer, Arkansas' Mike Neighbors, Auburn's Johnnie Harris, Georgia Tech's Nell Fortner and Lamar's A'Quonesia Franklin. His two sisters were over six foot. Our student body is 62,000 strong, and there are other things in life just as important as basketball. She was the first 6-3 kid who could play all five positions. During his first season, the Lady Razorbacks won 15 of their 29 games, their first winning season in several years. "I am fortunate that my health is still great, and I believe that I can still make an impact on our student-athletes and that I can give all my effort every single day. I had a rule for my kids that they had to play all of (the sports). "Having my name on that beautiful floor is a humbling experience. Conference tournament champion, List of college women's basketball coaches with 600 wins, "Big 12 Coaches Owe Much to Louisiana Tech", "Q&A with Texas A&M women's hoops coach Gary Blair", "Pepperdine Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tourney Up Next For No. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair will retire after the 2021-22 season, officially making the announcement in a school release Thursday morning. Division regular season and conference tournament champion Look at the impact hes had on a countless number of people. We finished third, first, first, second and first. Sport makes us better. Title IX came in 1972, and schools had to put womens athletics in larger cities, whereas before they had only existed in small towns. It didnt take long five successful seasons for others to come calling for Blair. Gary, who has three years remaining on his A&M contract, has shown no signs of slowing. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair announced on Thursday that this season will be the last of his historic career. I pull for all the older men and women. 9 Replies | His teams won three state Class 4A championships, in 1977, 1978, and 1980, and finished as the runner-up in 1979 by only two points. In the family: Kelly Bond-White, Texas A&M associate head . I can get something out of all three of those. [3] With a Number 6 seed[2] to the NCAA Tournament (A&M's first such invitation since 1996), Blair became only the fourth coach in NCAA history to take three different schools to the NCAA Tournament,[3] although this became his only appearance where his team lost in the first round. On Thursday night, Blair will coach the Texas A&M women's team at . Thats when I went to South Oak Cliff High School and got one of few jobs that were open. He can tell you all about their kids, their jobs, their successes. "When they're together, you can just tell how much they care about each other," A&M guard Sydney Carter said. You want to see people compete. [5] He earned his master's degree in education from the school in 1974. Blair initially rejected the offer, but upon his wife's encouragement, he accepted it. "I've got our kids and grandkids up in Arkansas with me," Nan said. And I truly love it. Those impressive accomplishments arent good enough for Blair, who began his career in 1973 as a coach at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas. Finish last in your league, and they call you an idiot, said Lemons, Texas basketball coach from 1976-82. 23 in the AP preseason poll. According to Brown-McCoy, most of the girls had never traveled outside of the Dallas area. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. In the final game, the USA beat South Korea to finish the competition with a perfect 93 record. None of the big six major cities in Texas had womens athletics before Title IX. "They make a difference," Nan said. 10-2 This Year. The focus instead will be on Blairs final season. He got the nickname "The Worm" from playing pinball back in the day. "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.". "But he was nice looking.". 500 With Win Over ISU", "Aggies claim first NCAA women's basketball championship", "Texas A&M women's coach Blair to retire at season's end", "Coaching great Blair inducted into Ladyjack Hall of Fame", "Southland legends Dumars, Blair to enter Conference Hall of Honor", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gary_Blair&oldid=1149421149, 2007 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year, 2006 Women's Basketball News Service National Coach of the Year, 2002 Texas High School Basketball Hall of Famer, 1995 Women's Basketball News Service National Coach of the Year, Five-time District VI Converse Coach of the Year, This page was last edited on 12 April 2023, at 03:53. There is the good, the bad and the ugly of social media. Well, I wasnt busy coaching baseball, so I jumped on that chance. Brent Zwerneman is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle covering Texas A&M athletics. [3], It was during his time at SFA that Blair met his future assistant coach Vic Schaefer, who was coaching the Sam Houston State Bearkats (one of SFA's main rivals) at the time. For me, hes been almost like a grandfather, she said. Post-spoiler alert: The NCAA chose Austin, and the Longhorns advanced to the College World Series. Ive had such a great career, he said. He bowled on a faculty team with their mother, Shirley. Kit Lyle was with me at Stephen F., and more recently he was Chennedy Carters coach for her last two years of high school Mike Neighbors was a high school coach at Cabbot making $72,000 a year. As he had done at every stop so far, Blair got to Nacogdoches a small town in East Texas and started winning. On Thursday night, Blair will coach the Texas A&M womens team at home for the last time, as the school names the court at Reed Arena after him. "She doesn't have a job and I don't have a job," Gary said. But the time has come.. The USA team was dominant, winning their games by an average off 33 points per game. All rights reserved. I switched my major to kinesiology. This is a reflection year more than anything, and I'm trying to get organized. Thats when we brought in Johnnie Harris, who did a wonderful job for me. But there werent a lot of high school coaching jobs available. Im not playing kids just to keep them from transferring. I told Sue that two things have to happen: you have to come with me and my wife has to come with me. Part of that attraction stems from the old line about absence making the heart grow fonder, considering the last quarter of their 32-year marriage has been spent separated by what Nan dubs "nine hours and 15 minutes" of asphalt. . Pam Green went on to star at Missouri. You get to appreciate what coaching is. A&M returns two starters and eight letter winners from the team that went 25-3 and won the Southeastern Conference regular-season championship last season. All the ones youve met and coached and had in your life. Blair can keep going, listing players from those South Oak Cliff teams. "She had white scrubs on and looked like a nurse. Texas A&M coach Blair to retire at end of season, The top 35 women's college basketball players in the transfer portal, Ex-Louisville star Van Lith picks champion LSU, New Big Ten boss Petitti ready to lead 'new era', Wake Forest's Spear, top-5 ACC scorer, in portal, Survey: Male athletes unsure of Title IX process, Oregon State AD Barnes released from hospital, S. Carolina brings on former Oregon PG Paopao, Ex-Iowa St. guard Donarski transferring to UNC, How Hailey Van Lith's transfer impacts NCAA champion LSU. Request a review copy, Professors: "We couldn't have done this 20 years ago, because we didn't have cellphones.". ". 1 and No. The USA came back, but was still behind at halftime. He has also held his "Celebrity Golf Classic" to benefit Special Olympics for over 15 years; recently, the program has raised over $100,000 annually. Blair used to play ping pong with Dennis. He was also interviewing for the New Mexico State job, which he didnt want to take. Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, right, and his wife, Nan, make a long-distance relationship work. I ended up coaching women's basketball because there wasn't a coaching job when I took the PE job at South Oak Cliff. So Blair will walk away this season after making a massive mark in so many places. A&M is all about leadership. During his stint at Arkansas, the womens game evolved in a way Blair had always hoped to see. Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial. Tennessee coach Kellie Harper and Texas A&M coach Gary Blair meet after an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Scott Keller/The Daily Times via AP) Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial. Try a week on us. He was with me two or three years. He published his autobiography, A Coaching Life, last year. Chennedy (Carter) hit a three and I thought we would pull it off, but Georgia controlled the OT. You can't stay inside the whole day. [12], Much of his recruiting is done in-state,[15] and Blair says that he recruits students for their offensive showing and then teaches them to play defense later. Legendary Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair retired at the end of the 2021-22 season, but he is still a fixture in and around Aggieland. Theheat doesn't bother me as long as I can play golf early in the morning. TexAgs is an independent site and is not affiliated with Texas A&M University. A new professional league, and you were seeing more people at college games around that time, too. Whether youre shopping Way Day 2023 or Walmart, theres an al fresco set for you. He began his career as an assistant at Louisiana Tech between 1980-85 as the Lady Techsters won two national titles, including the first NCAA women's basketball tournament in 1982 season. What's tough right now is that Tuesday was the first day on the road for all my coaches. Brent is the author of four published books about Texas A&M, three related to A&M athletics. It will be nearly impossible for Texas A&M to replace women's basketball coach Gary Blair, who announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of the 2021-22 season. At that time where were no coaching jobs, so I took a PE teacher job, and I volunteered to be the golf coach. Whether you're walking for exercise or playing pickleballlike my wife does on Monday nights. Weve got plenty of time for that, Bjork said The great thing about the timing from only that perspective is you have all season to analyze, look at the landscape of college basketball, see what coaches are out there, see what the future holds and be able to analyze what that landscape is. He is a natural at making anyone feel like an old friend, and that went a long way as he continued to build up every program he touched. Would be hard to leave that. At each new place, there was a new challenge and something to build, but it was always worth it, he said. But he drew in others, like Sydney Colson and Danielle Adams around the same time, both of whom were on the Aggies 2011 national championship team. He handled the defense, and it was the first time Id really turned over the defense to an assistant coach. He was only 5-foot-11. I love it enough. "He has a lot of wisdom. Wishing you all the best in your retirement. He said thats the right time to retire because the program is strong and he needs to spend more time with his wife, Kyla, and their children and nine grandchildren. Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire. Gary is in his ninth year as the most successful basketball coach in A&M history, having led the Aggies to the school's first national title in the sport a year ago. Can you talk about your experience coaching at Louisiana Tech, at the dawning of womens collegiate basketball? "That makes this harder on Gary. When I got to Arkansas I needed a national recruiter, so I hired Tom Collen from Purdue. Now divorced, Blair has a son and a daughter, and three grandchildren. Hes done tremendous things in the game of basketball. He's nine wins from being the winningest basketball coach (men's or women's) in Texas A&M history. Sometimes I want to do things with my wife and my grandkids. Gary Blair - Wikipedia A&M's Blair, Arkansas-based wife make marriage work. I want to be known in this community as more than just a basketball coach, and people appreciate that. This is my 19th year (at A&M), Blair said with a cracking voice and misty eyes. "Just because of the impact that he's had on the women's game. Joni Taylor leaves Georgia to replace Gary Blair as Texas A&M - ESPN Blair led the Aggies to the national championship in 2011. I enrolled in May, 1969 when everyone was trying to stay out. Going into the season, he ranked eighth among active Division I coaches for career coaching victories. So Blair, then a hip 33 and coach of South Oak Cliff High's girls basketball team, strolled into the office and coaxed the manager to introduce him to Nan Smith. After serving on former Georgia coach Andy Landers' staff in Athens from 2011 to 2015, Taylor had a breakthrough season in 2020-21, as the Lady Bulldogs went 21-7 and advanced to the SEC . Coachs Chair: Gary Blair, Texas A&M University, No. I knew him from Sam Houston State when I was at Stephen F. He was making $44,000 at Sam Houston and I brought him in at $55,000. Early in his first season, he offered four free tickets to a game during an interview on a local radio station. Theres no one in my generation who will ever eclipse his achievements. The Aggies (14-12, 4-10 SEC) will miss the NCAA Tournament this season unless they stun in the conference tournament. In his final season with the Lady Razorbacks, the team finished the season ranked 24th nationally and reached the second round of the NCAA Tournament. As he reminisces, the corners of his mouth curl into a signature grin that has charmed basketball players, referees, parents of recruits and a lot of sports journalists for nearly 50 years. Aggies associate head coach Kelly Bond-White has been with Blair all 15 years in the program, and assistant coach Bob Starkey has been there for six. 42 (UConn wins Dance; WBB ratings boom), 'I'm very honored and humbled': Gary Blair discusses Hall of Fame honor. I started out with something else in mind and I ended up on this path, coaching all these young women over the years. A group of girls from South Oak Cliff were ready to play any and every sport they could. Save on AeroGarden indoor herb growing kits at Amazon, Create a bonsai tree out of bricks with this $40 LEGO set, Preorder 'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' today, Astros vs Phillies: How to get tickets and free swag this weekend, There are a ton of great patio furniture sets on sale right now. [3], Blair made history with his 19971998 team. It won't be difficult to go see the team play, but it will be difficult to realize that I have a seat. "I initially stayed behind because our son (Matt) was a senior in high school," Nan said of why she's never left Fayetteville, Ark. The one thing I want to be able to do is that I want to leave on good terms. We have a little travel in our plans, and I have a busy month of September coming up. He had to be a sports fan. I ended up at South Oak Cliff in physical education and I was just waiting for a baseball job.. We (coaching staff) spent two hours last night with current recruits, Blair said. Karl Malone was playing at Louisiana Tech at that time. Coach Gary Blair and the A&M women are ranked No. "[5], After his graduation from Texas Tech, Blair hoped to find a high school baseball coaching job in Lubbock, but he was offered the physical education coach gig[tone] at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, a predominantly Black school. I have respect, and people appreciate what I gave back to the game. In 1977 we won our first state championship, and they asked me to be the head boys basketball coach and the coordinator of junior varsity football. I think its just time for me to stop.. 2023 Maroon & White LP. Vic Schaefer came with me when Tom took the Colorado job. From throwing candy in the stands to entice students to come to games and support their womens teams to saying yes to just about every media request ever made to building the confidence of just about every player he ever coached, Blair has been an integral figure in womens basketball. All ex-players and all ex-coaches think we have one more (game) left in us, Blair said. Brent met his wife, KBTX . . The games and wins, sure. Oct 28, 2021. You could tell Cheryl was the next coming. The USA team won their opening seven games, behind the scoring leadership of Sheri Sam, who averaged 13 points per game. Wed take the kids home after practice just load up cars take them home. [14] This marked the first time in Aggie history that the women's basketball team had earned consecutive NCAA tournament berths. Ask Liucci: Spring football takeaways, A&M's spring sports & more, Follow The Money - Ep. COLLEGE STATION Shelby Metcalf once explained why he had no problem recruiting to a then-all-male military institute in Texas A&M in the early 1960s. In November of that year, I made the decision to take the Louisiana Tech assistant job. Brent Zwerneman is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle covering Texas A&M athletics. You cant explain how special it is to see your team work that way and win those games.. People ask me how retirement is every day. All three of us were six months apart in age. [3] Blair was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? They used to ride in vans and wear tube socks. [3], In the summer of 1996, while his Arkansas team was in their offseason, Blair spent several months in Taiwan as the assistant coach of the U.S. Jones Cup team, which won the gold medal and became the first U.S. team to be undefeated at the Jones Cup tournament. You have to get outside. The next year, it became a paid thing. [10], As the head coach of the women's basketball team at Arkansas, Blair compiled a 198-120 record. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair, 76, announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of this season. Nan is in her fifth year as Arkansas' director of nursing. Ask Liucci: Spring football takeaways, A&M's spring sports & more, Follow The Money - Ep. [8] After winning the first state championship, he was offered the head baseball job he had been waiting for, but he turned it down to remain coaching the women's teams. Taylor succeeds hall of famer Gary Blair and is inheriting a program that is one of eight schools in the past 20 years to have a national title. How did you get into womens basketball, and where did you get your basketball knowledge? Blair was intrigued by the universitys facilities, its athletic prowess in other sports and its location. Brent is the author of four published books about Texas A&M, three related to A&M athletics. Texas A&M's Gary Blair is retiring. Hed built a program from scratch and helped bring visibility to girls basketball in the state. Early in his high school career, he was the most average guy that you had ever seen. 978-1-62349-536-7 Cloth I lived for that. 2,868 Views | She's a great manager of people, and I think I've done a pretty good job of managing people, too.". Blair stated, "It wasnt the right fit or the right time. At age 27, he used his G.I. Since then, the team has won more than 70 percent of its . Those misses included big names like Brittney Griner, who went to Baylor, and Nneka Ogwumike, who played at Stanford. He thanked a myriad of administrators, coaches and current and former players for his success. "Then our daughter (Paige) and I started a business together, grandchildren had come along, and things just kept moving on.". Brent was named national beat writer of the year by the Football Writers Association of America for 2021, the first Texan to earn the honor, but hes most proud on the sports front of earning Dayton Invitational Basketball Tournament MVP honors in 1988. You couldnt hope for anything more. Blair arrived at Texas A&M in 2003,[11] taking over the Big 12 Conference's worst team, which had not had a winning season in seven years. Seems like a disproportionately hostile response. What I haven't gotten to do is spend a lot of time with my granddaughter and grandson.". The program had solidified itself as one of the best in Texas, and Blair had established a foothold in basketball. Blair, 76, has won 838 games in his career at Stephen F. Austin . Blair notched his 750th career win last month. Overall, Blair has 852 career wins, 12th all-time in Division I history, and has led the Aggies to 16 NCAA tournaments, eight Sweet Sixteens, three Elite Eights and five conference titles along with the the 2011 national championship. She coached a gold medal team for USA Basketball, and that always helps in recruiting. Gary Blairs teams have earned an NCAA tournament berthevery year from2006-2021. Todays kids live in the moment. 13 UCLA contains Stanford to avenge previous loss, Coaches credit mental strength of athletes during pandemic season, Indiana, Arizona are first-time dancers in the Elite 8, Clutch Nixon, Aggies ready for the Sweet 16. The two appear to have only one regret concerning their long-distance arrangement. Been divorced for about 4 years. She will be somebody we will keep an eye on throughout the year just as we will a lot of different coaches around the country.. All of them are still committed to us. Gary Blair - Women's Basketball Coach - Texas A&M Athletics - 12thMan.com No wonder he is coaching so long gotta reestablish himself. Weve done a good job of bringing in the right kids with the right parents. I got early outs in December, 1970. 42 (UConn wins Dance; WBB ratings boom), 'I'm very honored and humbled': Gary Blair discusses Hall of Fame honor. After I completed my failure in architecture, I had to sit out a semester and a summer before I could come back, and by that time baseball was over. Longtime Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair announced Thursday that this season will be his last with the Aggies, with the 76-year-old . The team also won the 2008 Big 12 conference tournament title. Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, right, and his wife, Nan, make a long-distance relationship work. You dont ever say that, but sometimes youve got to admit somebody might be better than you particularly in the changing world that were living in today.. Like Blair, Slocum is the winningest coach in A&M history in his sport. They made it to the UIL Texas state tournament five years in a row and won the title three times. Last: How long do you want to ignore this user? My friends sentme pictures. I played ping pong and basketball with Dennis Rodman when he was a kid. It would have been 16 had the 2020 tournament not been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. A Coaching Life on Apple Books Been engaged a year to a wonderful lady. . It will be a symbol of all those that helped build this program and all the Aggies that battle on that court, not just in women's basketball, but in men's basketball and volleyball as well. Gary Blair Court at Reed Arena will be officially dedicated during a pregame . For his efforts, Blair was inducted into the Texas High School Basketball Hall of Fame. Social media is now as important as the three-point line. Gary Blair coaches final game as Vanderbilt eliminates Texas A&M in SEC [9], Blair was inducted into the Ladyjack Hall of Fame during halftime of the Ladyjacks game against the Aggies on December 2, 2008.
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