[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 24 (Wednesday, March 1, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E239-E240]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     CELEBRATING THE 40TH ANNIVERSARY OF TEXAS WESTERN'S 1966 NCAA 
                        BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                         HON. SOLOMON P. ORTIZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 28, 2006

  Mr. ORTIZ. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in celebration of diversity in 
sports and civil rights in America first pioneered by Texas Western's 
1966 NCAA Basketball Championship victory. On its 40th anniversary, I 
join my colleagues in recognizing the lasting impact this title game 
has etched into the history of American culture.
  The Texas Western 1966 NCAA Championship triumph over the University 
of Kentucky is to this day acknowledged as the turning point for not 
only college basketball but American sports in general.
  When no other schools in the Southeastern Conference or the former 
Southwestern Conference would award them athletic scholarships, African 
Americans had been recruited by and playing for Texas Western since the 
1950s.
  The university's most controversial move, however, came when the 1966 
Miners were the first team in NCAA basketball to have an all-black 
starting lineup. Winning the title game was perhaps not as a great a 
feat for Coach Don Haskins as was placing five all-black starters 
against five all-white starters in 1966.
  Haskins' daring insight combined with the players' undeniable 
athletic talent produced a game that would rupture the social structure 
of college sports and forever change the face of American sports.

[[Page E240]]

  The Miners' 72-65 victory over the Wildcats proved to be more than 
just an athletic anomaly. It became the social breakthrough that would 
invite the irrepressible talent and skill diversity has to offer to 
college athletics.
  With cultural implications well beyond its sporting ones, this 
championship win has come to symbolize the glory that could be obtained 
by athletes--regardless of their heritage--who are bold enough to 
travel down the road of recognition, integration, and acceptance.
  Today, I ask my colleagues to join me in celebrating Texas Western's 
1966 NCAA Basketball Championship as we commemorate the 40th 
anniversary of the team's revolutionary civil rights success.

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