EL PASO — Dozens of fans, many wearing UTEP orange and blue, solemnly filed past Don Haskins’ wooden casket Tuesday at center court of the arena named for the pioneering basketball coach.
A song softly played from the soundtrack to “Glory Road,” a film about the school’s improbable 1966 NCAA title run when it was known as Texas Western College.
The Hall of Fame coach, who retired in 1999, died at 78 on Sunday from congestive heart failure. Haskins is credited with helping break racial barriers by starting five black players during the 1966 championship against all-white Kentucky.
Scoreboards at the Haskins Center were lit with the final score — Texas Western 72, Kentucky 65 — while a spotlight was trained on his championship banner in the rafters.
“He was never political. Those were the times and the days the black kids didn’t play at other schools, but he started five and was able to win with them without worrying about what color they were,” said former Arkansas coach Nolan Richardson, who played for Haskins for two years at Texas Western.
A private funeral is scheduled for today. A public memorial, expected to draw thousands, is set for Thursday at 6:35 p.m. — tip-off time for televised college basketball games.
