[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 143 (Wednesday, September 10, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S8271]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        REMEMBERING DON HASKINS

 Mr. CORNYN. Mr. President, today I wish to pay tribute to Don 
Haskins, a great Texan, legendary basketball coach, and remarkable man 
who passed away earlier this week at his home in El Paso.
  Haskins, who started his career coaching small-town high school 
basketball teams, served as the head coach at Texas Western College, 
now the University of Texas at El Paso, UTEP, from 1961 to 1999. His 
decision to ``put my five best guys on the court'' in the 1966 NCAA 
national championship game against the Kentucky Wildcats is now widely 
regarded as a catalyst for racial integration in college sports. The 
Texas Western Miners, with an all-Black starting lineup, beat the 
Wildcats 72-65. Their inspiring story is told in the film, ``Glory 
Road,'' and the book of the same name.
  Over his long career, Coach Haskins compiled a 719-353 record and 
earned a place in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 1997 
and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1987. Over the years, he turned 
down lucrative job offers in order to stay at UTEP. He retired in 1999 
with the fourth best record in history that included winning seven 
Western Athletic Conference, WAC, championships and four WAC tournament 
titles.
  While Coach Haskins was known for his tough and competitive spirit, 
he is also remembered for his selfless acts of kindness.
  According to an Associated Press report, ``USC coach Tim Floyd, a 
former Haskins assistant, said he once got a call from the mayor of Van 
Horn, a small town about 120 miles east of El Paso, to thank Haskins 
for giving a ride to a family of five stranded along the highway.
  `` `He'd been coyote hunting and saw a station wagon broken down,' 
Floyd recalled this week. `He put them (the family) in his truck, drove 
them to El Paso, put them up in a hotel for two nights, and gave them 
$1,000.'
  ``The family drove to Los Angeles after Haskins also helped get their 
car repaired. The coach never told anyone about it, not even his wife, 
according to Floyd.
  ``Floyd said he never told the story before, mostly because Haskins 
wouldn't have wanted anyone to know.
  `` `I'm only telling it now because he's gone,' Floyd said. `I want 
people to know.' ''
  In deciding to devote the best years of his life and career to the 
people of Texas, Coach Haskins built a legacy that will continue to 
inspire generations. I join with all Texans as we mourn his passing and 
extend our deepest condolences to his family.

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