Texas Western's Historic Title
March 1966. The first all-Black starting five to win the NCAA final
In 1966, many college teams in the southern United States still had no Black players at all. Kentucky, coached by Adolph Rupp, was one of the most famous programs in the country, and its roster was all white.
Texas Western College, coached by Don Haskins, reached the national final against Kentucky. On 19 March 1966, at Cole Field House in College Park, Maryland, Haskins started five Black players. Texas Western won 72 to 65, making 28 of 34 free throws.
Haskins later said he was simply playing his best players. The result still echoed across the country, and in the years that followed, college programs that had refused to recruit Black players began to change. The story was later told in the film Glory Road.
What changed
Teams could no longer pretend that talent had a color. Recruiting opened up, and the college game grew stronger, faster and more competitive as a result.