[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 2]
[House]
[Pages 2207-2211]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




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

  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the 
resolution (H. Res. 668) celebrating the 40th anniversary of Texas 
Western's 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship and recognizing the 
groundbreaking impact of the title game victory on diversity in sports 
and civil rights in America, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                              H. Res. 668

       Whereas Don Haskins was a high school basketball star at 
     Enid High School in Enid, Oklahoma, a college standout at 
     Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State) under his mentor, Coach 
     Hank Iba, and a successful Texas high school basketball 
     coach, amassing a 157-41 win-loss record coaching Benjamin, 
     Hedley, and Dumas High Schools;
       Whereas in 1961 Don Haskins became the coach of the men's 
     basketball team at Texas Western College, which was later 
     renamed the University of Texas at El Paso;
       Whereas early in the 1965-1966 basketball season Don 
     Haskins told Texas Western president Joseph Ray, ``The way 
     our boys line up now, my six best boys are black. If I leave 
     two or three of them out because they're black, they'll know 
     it. [And] the white boys will know it.'';
       Whereas the 1966 Texas Western team of Bobby Joe Hill 
     (Detroit, Michigan), Orsten Artis (Gary, Indiana), Togo 
     Railey (El Paso, Texas), Willie Worsley (New York, New York), 
     David Palacio (El Paso, Texas), Dick Myers (Peabody, Kansas), 
     Harry Flournoy (Gary, Indiana), Louis Baudoin (Albuquerque, 
     New Mexico), Nevil Shed (New York, New York), Jerry Armstrong 
     (Eagleville, Missouri), Willie Cager (New York, New York), 
     and David ``Big Daddy'' Lattin (Houston, Texas) finished the 
     basketball season 28-1;
       Whereas on March 19, 1966, Coach Don Haskins' all-black 
     starting line-up, the first such line-up to ever appear in a 
     major championship contest, defeated the heavily-favored 
     University of Kentucky to win the NCAA Basketball 
     Championship, an event defined by many as the ``Brown v. 
     Board of Education of athletics'';
       Whereas the Miners' victory accelerated the pace of racial 
     integration in college athletics and contributed to the 
     expansion of the civil rights movement into the realm of 
     sports;
       Whereas when recounting his historic impact on diversity in 
     college sports, Don Haskins said, ``I just played my best 
     guys, like any coach would do.''; and
       Whereas over the course of his career Don Haskins also 
     coached the Miners to 32 winning seasons, seven Western 
     Athletic Conference championships, four Western Athletic 
     Conference tournament titles, and 21 post-season appearances, 
     creating a proud tradition of college basketball success and 
     community spirit in El Paso that persists to this day and 
     winning entry into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of 
     Fame in 1997: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved, That the House of Representatives celebrates the 
     40th anniversary of

[[Page 2208]]

     Texas Western's 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship and 
     recognizes the groundbreaking impact of the title game 
     victory on diversity in sports and civil rights in America.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Florida (Mr. Keller) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Florida.


                             General Leave

  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
on H. Res. 668.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Florida?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  It gives me great pleasure to rise in support of House Resolution 
668, which celebrates the 40th anniversary of Texas Western's 1966 NCAA 
basketball championship and recognize the groundbreaking impact of the 
title game victory on diversity in sports and civil rights in America.
  Texas Western's victory occurred 40 years ago, 1966, during the midst 
of the civil rights movement to end discrimination against blacks. The 
1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision and the Civil Rights Act of 
1964 outlawed institutional racial segregation. In Vietnam, blacks were 
fighting and dying alongside their fellow white soldiers. Blacks were 
not, however, playing basketball at many schools in the South, where de 
facto segregation still reigned.
  For Don Haskins, coach of the Texas Western Miners men's basketball 
team, a person's race did not matter. To him ability on the basketball 
court mattered more than the color of the player's skin. To Coach 
Haskins, the only thing that really mattered was winning.
  This was the philosophy Coach Haskins used on the night of March 19, 
1966. That night the Texas Western Miners made history by defeating the 
number-one-ranked, all-white University of Kentucky Wildcats for the 
NCAA basketball championship, a game of historical significance because 
no other college team at the time had ever started five black players 
in a major championship contest. In fact, when Texas Western defeated 
Kentucky 72-65, a game still celebrated as one of the biggest college 
basketball upsets in NCAA history, there were no black basketball 
players in the Southeastern or Atlantic Coast Conferences.
  This remarkable triumph helped shift the national perception of black 
athletes and helped bring about the widespread desegregation of college 
sports. In turn, the desegregation of college sports helped to spread 
greater equality throughout American society.
  Mr. Speaker, the man behind Texas Western's success is Don Haskins. 
His 38-year reign at Texas Western, now the University of Texas El 
Paso, allowed him to become one of the winningest coaches in NCAA 
history. He amassed a 719-354 record, 32 winning seasons, seven Western 
Athletic Conference Championships, four Western Athletic Tournament 
titles, and 21 post-season appearances. In 1997, Coach Haskins was 
inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He retired 
from coaching in 1999.
  Coach Don Haskins is truly a living legend in college sports. He 
believed that as a coach he should recruit the best raw talent he could 
find no matter the player's race, background, or life story. If not for 
the colorblind dream of Coach Haskins to win basketball games with his 
team's most talented players, history may not have been made on the 
night of March 19, 1966.
  I want to thank my colleague from Texas (Mr. Reyes) for introducing 
this legislation and bringing forth a lesser known, yet significant, 
piece of history in college athletics. I am happy to join my colleagues 
in celebrating the 40th anniversary of Texas Western's 1966 NCAA 
basketball championship. I ask my colleagues to support this 
resolution.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, it is my privilege to rise in support of H. Res. 668, a 
resolution to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Texas Western's 1966 
NCAA basketball championship.
  I am proud to join my colleague and very good friend, the 
resolution's author, Congressman Silvestre Reyes from El Paso, in 
commemorating the 40th anniversary of this watershed event in our 
struggle for racial equality.
  On March 19, 1966, Texas Western College's Coach Don Haskins led an 
all-black starting lineup to a 72-65 win over an all-white team from 
the basketball powerhouse, University of Kentucky. For Coach Haskins, 
he was simply putting his best players on the floor. For the Nation, he 
delivered the message that in competition, talent and ability mattered 
more than race. This is a lesson that we are still learning today.
  The young men who took Texas Western College to a 28-1 championship 
season braved racism and hostile crowds to carry their team and their 
college to victory. I invite you to see this 1966 team photo in front 
of Memorial Gym, courtesy of the University of Texas El Paso. These 
champions were Bobby Joe Hill, Orsten Artis, Togo Railey, Willie 
Worsley, David Palacio, Dick Meyers, Harry Flournoy, Louis Baudoin, 
Nevil Shed, Jerry Armstrong, Willie Cager, and David Lattin.
  It is fitting that on this 40th anniversary of the 1966 Miners 
breaking the color barrier in the NCAA championship game, that we 
reflect on how far we have come and how far we have yet to go. College 
enrollments are at an all-time high; and yet black, Hispanic, and low-
income students are not enrolling and graduating at the rates we need 
for our Nation to put its best players on the floor.
  Texas Western College is now the University of Texas El Paso. As an 
institution, it continues to lead the charge in developing our best 
talents without regard to race, ethnicity, or family income. The 
University of Texas El Paso is one of our Nation's leading Hispanic-
serving institutions: 72 percent of its students are Hispanic. It is 
third in the Nation for producing Hispanic undergraduates, and is also 
rated the top engineering school for Hispanics. Since 1988, it has been 
led by a Latina, Dr. Diana Natalicio, a top administrator and a 
trailblazer by anyone's measure.
  The University of Texas El Paso, in the spirit of the 1966 
championship Miners, continues to break barriers and continues to 
refuse to let race, ethnicity, or family income trump talent and hard 
work.
  I hope that all my colleagues will join me in celebrating this 
milestone in college athletics and racial equality.
  Please join me in saluting the Miners on the 40th anniversary of 
their NCAA championship, and I urge you to vote for this legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield 6\1/2\ minutes to my friend and 
colleague from El Paso, Texas (Mr. Reyes), the author of this 
legislation.
  Mr. REYES. Mr. Speaker, I thank my colleague from Texas and also the 
gentleman from Florida for allowing us the time to speak here on this 
very important event, not just for El Paso and not just for Texas but 
for our whole country, for a whole generation of players and those that 
have benefited from their accomplishments.
  I rise today in strong support, Mr. Speaker, of H. Res. 668, a 
resolution that celebrates the 40th anniversary of Texas Western's 1966 
NCAA basketball championship, recognizing the groundbreaking impact of 
that title game victory on diversity in sports and, of course, on the 
impact, as my colleagues have stated, of civil rights in America.
  I am proud to have introduced this bill and honored to have the 
opportunity to speak in this Chamber today about the importance of what 
a basketball team and a coach achieved 40 years ago.

[[Page 2209]]

  This afternoon I want to thank Leader Boehner and Chairman McKeon and 
Ranking Member Miller for their support in bringing this very important 
legislation to the floor.
  On March 19, 1966, the Miners of Texas Western, which is now UTEP, 
led by Coach Don Haskins, defeated the University of Kentucky at Cole 
Field House in College Park, Maryland. This significant championship 
game gave the NCAA basketball championship at a crucial time to Texas 
Western College.
  At a time when the bitter politics of racism dictated to many coaches 
around the country who got to play, Coach Haskins started five black 
players in the NCAA basketball championship game, the first time in 
America that this country had seen an all-black starting lineup in a 
major championship contest.
  In 1966, as a strengthening civil rights movement met poisonous 
political dispute and violence, the Miners were clearly able to 
demonstrate to a Nation and the sports world the virtue of 
desegregation and equality.
  As the athletic establishment abided by that unwritten rule that 
said, play two on the road, three if you are really behind, referring 
of course to black players, Coach Haskins looked past the color of the 
players' skin and concentrated on winning games and eventually the 
national championship.
  Years later Coach Haskins would say, ``I just played my best guys 
like any coach would do.'' That simple principled courage changed the 
course of American athletics and provided an important advance in the 
struggle of civil rights in our Nation.
  The Texas Western's championship was an event defined by many as the 
Brown v. Board of Education of athletics. Like many whose lives were 
constrained by their appearance and background, I found extraordinary 
significance in that 1966 game.

                              {time}  1515

  I was a Texas Western student during the fall semester of 1965 and 
had an opportunity to see these great players play. Shortly thereafter, 
I was drafted into the Army and eventually went on to fight in Vietnam. 
In March of 1966, I was still in El Paso, only stationed at Fort Bliss 
doing basic training. For those of us who were in the military at the 
time, the hypocrisy of America's racial policies were very clear. We 
saw a country that would not hesitate to send black and Hispanic 
soldiers to fight and die in foreign wars, but would not fight for us 
back at home.
  Coach Haskins' and the Miners' victory helped reveal to a nation the 
absurdity of racism and the futility of segregation.
  I returned from Vietnam and chose a career in public service and a 
career in which my successes followed from my abilities and my own hard 
work. Of course, I found that life does not abide by that perfect rule 
of a game like basketball, but I remain inspired today by Texas 
Western's win, and I know that I would not have had the opportunities I 
did have had it not been for the courage of people like Don Haskins and 
his Miners.
  Today, a university, a city and a country are improved by the 
achievement of that 1966 team. Soon after that championship, Texas 
Western became the University of Texas at El Paso or, as we call it 
now, UTEP, and its basketball program continued to thrive under Coach 
Haskins until his retirement, as my colleagues have said, in 1999. 
Coach Haskins eventually led UTEP to 32 winning seasons, seven Western 
Athletic Conference championships, four Western Athletic Conference 
tournament titles, and 21 post-season appearances.
  Last year, the Miners won 27 games, 16 at our own Don Haskins Center 
in El Paso, named after the great coach, and they also earned a spot in 
the NCAA tournament. This year, they are again near the top of their 
conference, a testament to the enduring tradition of college basketball 
success created by Don Haskins.
  The university itself has been transformed from a small mining school 
into a hub of academic excellence and world-class research. El Paso, 
long proud of its Miners and its NCAA championship, has enjoyed the 
attention of a nation this year, as millions of Americans have fallen 
in love with the Miners through the recently released film ``Glory 
Road,'' which is currently being shown around the country.
  It is especially important for us to honor the 1966 Miners today on 
the eve of their accomplishment, here shown in that championship game 
against Kentucky. We must revise our historical injustice, the 
injustice of a group of men being judged by who they were, not how they 
played.
  At the time, the Texas Western Miners were denied an opportunity to 
appear on the Ed Sullivan Show, but just last week I want to commend 
President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush as they honored this team at 
the White House, shown here in this photograph with the President, the 
original members of that 1966 championship team.
  So this afternoon I want to congratulate Coach Don Haskins, Bobby Joe 
Hill, Orsten Artis, Togo Railey, Willie Worsley, David Palacio, Dick 
Myers, Harry Flournoy, Louis Baudoin, Nevil Shed, Jerry Armstrong, 
Willie Cager, and David ``Big Daddy'' Lattin on the occasion of the 
40th anniversary of their NCAA championship and for all of their 
successes in their lives. Today, we also remember, of course, Bobby Joe 
Hill who died and was unable to be in this photograph here in 2002.
  So, Mr. Speaker, I strongly urge my colleagues to support H. Res. 
668.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 4 minutes to the 
distinguished gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis).
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I want to thank the gentleman 
from Texas (Mr. Hinojosa) for yielding me time, and I want to extend 
serious, serious commendations to the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Reyes) 
for his introduction of this resolution, for his keen insight and the 
opportunity to note progress in our country.
  Forty years ago, on March 19, 1966, the Texas Western basketball 
team, the Miners, defeated the University of Kentucky at Cole Field 
House in College Park, Maryland, to win the NCAA basketball 
championship.
  This victory marked the first time that an all-black starting lineup 
appeared in a major championship athletic contest.
  Often regarded as the Brown v. Board of Education of sports, the 
Miners' victory over the heavily favored Wildcats ushered college 
basketball specifically, and sports more generally, into the civil 
rights movement. Prior to this event, athletics remained largely 
insulated from the civil rights swell.
  This bill recognizes the historic accomplishment of Coach Don Haskins 
and the 12 players from the 1966 team. These players deserve 
recognition today, and two of the gentlemen are close neighbors to my 
congressional district, Orsten Artis and Harry Flournoy, both from 
Gary, Indiana.
  These men finished the basketball season with an impressive 28-1 
record. Ultimately, Coach Haskins led the Miners to 33 winning seasons 
and 21 post-season appearances.
  This resolution recognizes the incredible effect that the 1966 NCAA 
basketball championship of Texas Western, now the University of Texas 
at El Paso, had on promoting diversity in sports and accelerating 
racial integration in college sports. I am pleased to support this 
resolution and urge its passage.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I have no further speakers, and I will 
continue to reserve the balance of my time at this point.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as she may consume to 
another good friend and colleague from the great State of Texas, 
Congresswoman Sheila Jackson-Lee of Houston.
  Ms. JACKSON-LEE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, let me thank my dear friend 
from Texas, Congressman Hinojosa, and of course, allow me to add my 
very, very, very sincere congratulations and appreciations to my friend 
and Representative from El Paso, the Honorable Silvestre Reyes.
  For those of you who are trying to get your eyes and your ears 
focused on this debate, let me just remind you of a celebrated movie by 
the name of

[[Page 2210]]

``Glory Road.'' Today, we have the opportunity to celebrate the real 
deal, the real thing, and that team was known as Texas Western, now 
known as the University of Texas at El Paso.
  Just think of 40 years ago, 1966, or 2 years after the 1964 Civil 
Rights Act, 1 year after the 1965 Voting Rights Act and 3 years after 
the tragedy of the four little girls in Birmingham. This was a 
tumultuous time in America's history, and so the idea of a coach, 
albeit the right idea, to place on the court of a basketball 
championship game five black boys, young men, to be able to play 
against the favored team, the University of Kentucky, was in itself a 
shocking, shocking occurrence.
  But yet Don Haskins, a courageous or just a wise leader, decided to 
put his best foot forward, and out of that came the 1966 Texas Western 
team.
  Might I congratulate all of the players: Bobby Joe Hill, Orsten 
Artis, Togo Railey, Willie Worsley, David Palacio, Dick Myers, Harry 
Flournoy, Louis Baudoin, Nevil Shed, Jerry Armstrong, Willie Cager, and 
right from the great city of Houston, now the fourth largest city in 
the Nation, David ``Big Daddy'' Lattin.
  We are delighted to be able to join my colleagues from Texas to say 
that we are proud of that measure of civil rights history. We salute 
certainly the wisdom of Don Haskins, and remind America that sports and 
the playing field, whether they be courts, or tennis courts, whether 
they be the NFL playing field or whether they be the baseball field or 
the soccer field, we know that sports generate character and integrity, 
but it also develops teams-
manship. So the idea of the youngsters of America today playing on the 
playing fields of athletic America hopefully will create the new civil 
rights movement. And as a city that just experienced the All Star Game, 
I can tell you the whole game of basketball certainly represents 
diversity as we have our young men, and many of those who have come 
from foreign lands, but it also is an opportunity for young men and 
women to work together.
  I want to congratulate the manager of this bill, Congressman 
Hinojosa, and congratulate Congressman Reyes, for their wisdom in 
saluting these young men, and I am delighted to have been an original 
cosponsor.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the proposed bill, H. Res. 668, 
``Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Texas Western's 1966 National 
Collegiate Athletic Association Basketball Championship victory.''
  On March 19, 1966, Coach Don Haskins and his Texas Western College 
Miners advanced to the NCAA Championship game against the segregated, 
all-White University of Kentucky Wildcats. Coach Haskins made the 
decision to put in an all-Black starting lineup, something that had 
never been done before.
  He made the announcement prior to the game and was thought to be a 
fool. It was the notion at the time that a team had to have at least 
one White player on the lineup to have a shot at winning a game, let 
alone the National Championship. Coach Haskins and his TW Miners 
shattered that school of thought with their triumphant win against the 
Wildcats.
  The victory on the court was not only a victory for the Miners, but a 
victory for civil rights. When Coach Haskins made the decision to start 
an all-Black lineup, he did so not to make a statement about racial 
equality, but in his own words to ``play my five best players. Race 
didn't matter to me.''
  The team's win was much more than simply a win on the basketball 
court signaling that a change had taken place in collegiate sports. The 
bold step taken by Don Haskins accelerated the pace that athletic teams 
were being integrated throughout the South.
  The team's success did not come without a price. After the win Coach 
Haskins received over 40,000 hate mail letters, illustrating the 
climate of hostility towards African Americans in the South during that 
time.
  The team's accomplishments both paralleled and contributed to the 
landmark events being made in the civil rights movement at the time. 
Basketball historian Neil Isaacs has called it the ``Brown v. Board of 
Education of college basketball . . . Since that time, no pretender to 
basketball eminence has ever drawn a color line in its recruiting.''
  I am proud to say that one of the most influential players on the 
team, David Latin, hails from my district of Houston. The massive 6'7" 
Center, paved the way for the team, scoring 16 points in the title 
game. As a testament to Latin's skill, he advanced to the NBA as a 
first-round pick to play for the San Francisco Warriors.
  The memory of the team and their magnificent 1966 NCAA Championship 
win has recently been captured in the Disney film ``Glory Road.'' The 
memory of Coach Haskins has been solidified by his induction into the 
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame for his remarkable achievements as a 
coach.
  As a Member of Congress deeply concerned with advancing the causes of 
civil liberties and a co-sponsor of H. Con. Res. 59, a bill similar to 
the one before us, which recognized both the teams and players of 
African-American basketball teams for their achievement and 
contribution to basketball and to the Nation prior to the integration 
of the white professional leagues, I ask my colleagues to join with me 
in support of H. Res. 668.
  Today we should rise and honor the memory of both the Texas Western 
College team and their coach, Don Haskins, who led them to a National 
Championship, and in doing so advanced the cause of civil rights and 
decreased segregation in athletics.
  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H. Res. 
668 to give recognition where recognition is long overdue. With this 
resolution, Congress applauds the groundbreaking significance of the 
1966 NCAA Division I men's basketball championship in which Texas 
Western upset the heavily favored University of Kentucky. That year, 
the Miners had an all-Black starting line-up, a first in a national 
championship competition that helped change the perception of Black 
athletes.
  Texas Western Coach Don Haskins and his players may not have set out 
to change history, but they did. The 1966 championship game helped pave 
the way for integration of athletics, opening sports to the civil 
rights movement, often being dubbed, the Brown v. Board of Education of 
sports. The next season, the Southwest Conference was integrated, and 
in 1967-68, Vanderbilt broke the Southeast Conference color barrier.
  Unfortunately, it has taken decades before Coach Haskins and his 
players' achievements have been recognized. In 1966 there were no trips 
to the White House or appearances on the Ed Sullivan show, both 
customary for national champions. The team did not even receive 
national championship rings until their 20-year reunion in 1986.
  It is time to recognize the profound contribution to the civil rights 
movement that this game spurred, and to recognize the 1966 NCAA 
Division I men's basketball champions, the Texas Western Miners. I urge 
my colleagues in joining me in supporting this bipartisan legislation.
  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to 
honor the 1966 Texas Western Men's Basketball Team. Their NCAA 
championship victory over Kentucky forever changed college athletics.
  Even though it had been over a decade since Brown v. Board of 
Education, many colleges had lagged behind on implementing integration 
into their athletics programs. In 1966, college basketball players were 
often recruited on the basis of their skin color rather than playing 
ability. Texas Western coach Bob Haskins did not succumb to pressures 
to start his White players. He simply played his best players 
regardless of skin color.
  This resulted in the first time an all-Black starting line-up 
participated in a major athletic championship contest. The impact was 
felt throughout the country when little-known Texas Western upset 
legendary all-White Kentucky.
  Perhaps most important in this victory was the stereotypes and 
misconceptions that were broken down. For many, the assumption remained 
that Black players would not be skilled or smart enough to successfully 
compete against White players. Bob Haskins and Texas Western proved on 
a national stage that Black players can win and are as smart and 
talented as their White counterparts.
  The 1966 Texas Western men's basketball team opened the doors for 
schools that had stalled in implementing integration policies into 
their athletics programs; breaking down barriers and forever changing 
college athletics.
  Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to thank Congressman Silvestre 
Reyes for offering House Resolution 668, a resolution which celebrates 
this year's 40th anniversary of Texas Western's 1966 NCAA Basketball 
Championship.
  The year of 1966 marked a number of ``firsts'' by African Americans. 
The Honorable Robert C. Weaver became the first African American 
Cabinet member with his appointment as Secretary of Housing and Urban 
Development, Edward Brooke became the first popularly elected African 
American to the United States Senate, and it also marked the first time 
a collegiate basketball team, the

[[Page 2211]]

Texas Western Miners, sporting an all African American line-up won the 
NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship.
  What made this victory important, and what we are commemorating here 
today, is not the fact that a team starting all African American 
student athletes beat a team of all White student athletes. We 
commemorate rather, the closing of one more chapter of segregation and 
bigotry to a new chapter where we judge an individual on the content of 
their character and qualifications and not on the color of their skin.
  The Texas Western Miners, in their victory over the University of 
Kentucky Wildcats, opened up numerous opportunities for student 
athletes of all races and creeds to attend college, participate in 
sports, and become eligible for athletic scholarships. The fact that 
the impact that this victory did so much to change the perception of 
African-American athletes and to speed the desegregation of 
intercollegiate sports, has lead many people to label this historic 
event as the Brown v. Board of Education of athletics.
  Finally, any tribute to the Minors would be incomplete without 
acknowledging their coach, Don Haskins. Coach Haskins is to be 
commended for his continued commitment to build on the foundation of 
integration that he inherited at Texas Western--the first college in a 
Southern state to integrate its athletic teams--and for his courage in 
facing collegiate basketball's racial issues directly.
  Mr. MARCHANT. Mr. Speaker, today I recognize the 40th anniversary of 
Texas Western's 1966 NCAA Basketball Championship. The title game had a 
profound impact on the state of racial integration in sports and civil 
rights in America.
  On March 16, 1966, Coach Don Haskins led the first ever all-Black 
starting lineup to play in a major championship contest in a victory 
over the heavily-favored Kentucky Wildcats.
  Coach Haskins played high school basketball in Enid, Oklahoma, and in 
college at Oklahoma A&M (now Oklahoma State). He then became a 
successful high school basketball coach in Texas. Haskins was a coach 
at Dumas High School before becoming the head of the men's team at 
Texas Western College, now the University of Texas at El Paso, in 1961.
  Haskins coached the Miners to 33 winning seasons over the course of 
his career with the Miners. He won seven Western Athletic Conference 
championships, four Western Athletic Conference tournament titles, and 
made 21 post-season appearances. He established a proud winning 
tradition in the community of El Paso that still exists today. Coach 
Haskins was voted in to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame 
in 1997.
  The Texas Western Miners' victory was a watershed moment for 
diversity in college athletics. It helped expand the civil rights 
movement into the realm of sports. On January 13, 2006, Walt Disney 
Pictures released Glory Road, which tells the story of the historic 
1966 season and pays tribute to the dedication and bravery of Coach 
Haskins.
  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.
  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.
  Mr. HINOJOSA. Mr. Speaker, I have no more speakers, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, I also yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Conaway). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Florida (Mr. Keller) that the House 
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 668, as amended.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. KELLER. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this question will 
be postponed.

                          ____________________