In 1985, he landed his first college head coaching job at Stephen F. Austin. It was the best decision.. The games and wins, sure. I flunked out of architecture, which didnt make me eligible for baseball. Dennis stayed and became the best he could be. "That makes this harder on Gary. Such amusing (to outsiders) situations are when Blair is at his best. Brent met his wife, KBTX-TV news anchor Crystal Galny, in the Dixie Chicken before an A&M-Texas Tech football game in 2002, and the couple has three children: Will, Zoe and Brady. I brought Sue Donohoe with me, who was a great recruiter and a real people person. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair, 76, announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of this season. You know, I think I could coach till I am 80, Blair, now 76, said. There wont be another one (like him), A&M mens basketball coach Buzz Williams said of Blair. He had to be a sports fan. Following his high school graduation in 1963, he enrolled at Texas Tech University, where he failed out of architecture, and moved to California to become a restaurant manager. In the 1970s the kids had to wash their own clothes. Blairs love for basketball and genuine interest in helping his players succeed on and off the court mixed with his charm is quite the combination. Sometimes you just go with the flow, and dont take life so seriously in non-serious moments. I get people to work with me, find out about them and get to know their strengths. From throwing candy in the stands to entice students to come to games and support their womens teams to saying yes to just about every media request ever made to building the confidence of just about every player he ever coached, Blair has been an integral figure in womens basketball. Blair and Homer Norton, who coached football from 1934-47, are the lone two A&M coaches to win national titles in the three major sports at the university: football, basketball and baseball. Now Texas A&M women's basketball head coach Gary Blair is ready to welcome everyone back this year for the 18th annual event to help support Special Olympics. He led the Aggies to the NCAA national championship in 2011. Gary Blair Court at Reed Arena will be officially dedicated during a pregame ceremony on Feb. 24 when the Aggies face South Carolina. At age 27, he used his G.I. I love it enough. He was previously head women's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin State University. We were just coming off of a state championship team and I had just got married. Thought it was strange she never moved to College Station. He was only 5-foot-11. He stresses offensive rebounding and defense to his teams,[2] and his 2007 Texas A&M team ranked among the nation's best in scoring defense, blocked shots, and steals. Earlier this season. I had to put silk flowers in the urinals at away games because we always had to use the boys locker room as visitors. He is listed in the top 35 of the all-time winningest NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches, and he is one of the few coaches to guide three different schools to national rankings and NCAA Tournament berths. He was stationed in Okinawa during his duty. Joni Taylor leaves Georgia to replace Gary Blair as Texas A&M - ESPN kissing my wife on the floor of Conseco Fieldhouse . This outlines how and why we collect, store and use your personal data when you use our website. Theheat doesn't bother me as long as I can play golf early in the morning. Gary is in his ninth year as the most successful basketball coach in A&M history, having led the Aggies to the school's first national title in the sport a year ago. Blair was intrigued by the universitys facilities, its athletic prowess in other sports and its location. You get to appreciate what coaching is. So Blair, then a hip 33 and coach of South Oak Cliff High's girls basketball team, strolled into the office and coaxed the manager to introduce him to Nan Smith. Early in his first season, he offered four free tickets to a game during an interview on a local radio station. Blair endorsed her as his eventual successor. Coach Blair has been a tireless advocate for women's basketball in general and was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013. Texas A&M to name court in honor of retiring women's basketball coach Available, Media: And a volleyball coach, and a track coach. Why UConn starts at No. She's a great manager of people, and I think I've done a pretty good job of managing people, too.". . I switched my major to kinesiology. Thomas Graning, FRE / Associated Press COLLEGE STATION The shortest. Ive missed too many ball games, too many cheerleading things, he said. What we want to do is make sure Coach is celebrated., Obviously we know (Bond-White) very well. After this season his 50th coaching Blair will retire and leave a stamp the size of Texas on the game of basketball. Conference tournament champion, List of college women's basketball coaches with 600 wins, "Big 12 Coaches Owe Much to Louisiana Tech", "Q&A with Texas A&M women's hoops coach Gary Blair", "Pepperdine Timeout 4 HIV/AIDS Tourney Up Next For No. I have no regrets and just hold my colleagues, my players and the game in such high regards. You think of all the people over the years, he said. When R.C. [24] His credentials include 28 years of head coaching experience at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and Texas A&M with a 71% lifetime winning percentage, along with the 2011 Division I National Championship.[25]. 0. "Thank you and Gig 'Em. 10,331 Views | Joe McKeown, the head women's basketball coach at Northwestern delivered the introduction speech by videotape. . Its time to sit up in the stands and do what you dosecond guess the coaches.. Sometimes, we can agree to disagree. . . Three years earlier, Garrido had deadpanned why it was important UT had made the CWS in 2011. It didnt take long five successful seasons for others to come calling for Blair. He is a stepfather to her two children, Callie and James, and is also a father to Paige and Matt Blair from his previous marriage with Nan Smith. Sometimes I want to do things with my wife and my grandkids. She was named to the Texas High School Hall of Fame and she was the first female athletic director in Dallas ISD in 2001. Like Blair, Slocum is the winningest coach in A&M history in his sport. The USA fell behind; Slovakia had a 2215 lead. In 1997 Collen went to Colorado State. Well hold on to these and were not finished recruiting.. A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, the 76-year-old Blair has a career record of 838-333 in 36 seasons at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and Texas A&M. Hes a five-time winner of APSE National Top 10 writing awards for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, including in 2021 breaking the bombshell college football story of the decade: Texas and Oklahoma secretly planning a move to the SEC. I try to take the time to really reflect on my career and to really enjoy each and every moment of these last games of my career.. The Aggies have won four conference titles and made 12 straight NCAA Tournament appearances that have included five Sweet Sixteen berths, three trips to the Elite Eight, and a National Championship in 2011. Part of that attraction stems from the old line about absence making the heart grow fonder, considering the last quarter of their 32-year marriage has been spent separated by what Nan dubs "nine hours and 15 minutes" of asphalt. As he reminisces, the corners of his mouth curl into a signature grin that has charmed basketball players, referees, parents of recruits and a lot of sports journalists for nearly 50 years. She is the answer going forward with this program.. [9], Blair was inducted into the Ladyjack Hall of Fame during halftime of the Ladyjacks game against the Aggies on December 2, 2008. "She doesn't have a job and I don't have a job," Gary said. The Make or Break For Jimbo's Tenure, Cromartie taking shots at the coaching staff. My job was to massage the egos. You just told em you were looking for basketball players, Metcalf said with a shrug, not lovers.. We stayed another five years. Blair is a member of seven halls of fame, including the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. "His decades-long championship-caliber coaching acumen and recruiting ability has transcended many generations of women's basketball players and his impact will be felt long after he hangs up the whistle.". You name it. I was in the middle of that with recruiting. Blair didnt find it easy upon his arrival from Arkansas nearly two decades ago. looking toward the stands, where my grandson was . In the final game, the USA beat South Korea to finish the competition with a perfect 93 record. Great for Gary. We cant get separation on teams, no one plays us close, our defense is solid but were not stopping people theyre scoring on us. However, I know that it is time for this to be my final season. When I go back to reunions I feel good because a lot of those old people dont nearly look as good. When I cant compete for championships anymore, its time to leave. She was the first 6-3 kid who could play all five positions. The couple doesn't really discuss where they'll end up. He thanked a myriad of administrators, coaches and current and former players for his success. Her first impression of the convivial coach and his recruiting ability? He coached for 37 years closing with Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball, who he coached from 2003 until his retirement in 2022. You could tell Cheryl was the next coming. Blair joined TexAgs Radio on Monday morning to discuss life after basketball and so much more. COLLEGE STATION - Gary Blair was in mid-swing in a water volleyball game that summer day in. Theres 17 other national championships we didnt win. The British Open is coming up. That team, that year, Blair said. "This is an incredible honor," Blair said. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair announced on Thursday that this season will be the last of his historic career. You know, you just remember all those wonderful things, he said. . Blair's legacy honored despite dropping final home game to South Building champions on, off court | Sports | thebatt.com Blair did the impossible. Brent is the author of four published books about Texas A&M, three related to A&M athletics. Im very honest with the kids and their parents: when you earn your playing time, you will get your playing time. We were in Okinawa when everyone was trying to pull troops back. Vic turned it down and came with me to Texas A&M, and Amber stayed. Blair said in a statement on Thursday. [2] During his five seasons there, Louisiana Tech reached the Final Four in the NCAA Tournament four times, winning two national championships. Blair is well-known and well-liked throughout the SEC. Blair used to play ping pong with Dennis. I actually fell in love with the kids, and to this day its still the best job Ive ever had, because it gave me the confidence to do what Im doing now. 2, Connecticut?. Whatever social media tells them to do, they live it in that moment. You can't stay inside the whole day. Arkansas, Gary's former school and Nan's current school, and Dayton are the other two entrants in the College Station event. Vic Schaefer came with me when Tom took the Colorado job. Blair coached Debra and Kim Rodman on one of his state title teams their brother Dennis used to play Ping-Pong and talk about basketball with Blair at the school. In 2003, Gary was hired from Arkansas to revive the Big 12's worst program in A&M. He published his autobiography, A Coaching Life, last year. We (coaching staff) spent two hours last night with current recruits, Blair said. We would pack them in to the old field house, and after two years when we won National Championships, we moved (the venue) to the new assembly center. [3], In the summer of 1996, while his Arkansas team was in their offseason, Blair spent several months in Taiwan as the assistant coach of the U.S. Jones Cup team, which won the gold medal and became the first U.S. team to be undefeated at the Jones Cup tournament. All the ones youve met and coached and had in your life. What is the foundation for building a good team culture? Look at the impact hes had on a countless number of people. He should do it on his terms. I told Sue that two things have to happen: you have to come with me and my wife has to come with me. So, with both drenched in successful careers, how have the two made a long-distance marriage work? All three of us were six months apart in age. I took the job thinking this will be good for a year or two. He was also inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2023. I had to have someone with me who could build the program up and I needed someone I could trust. All of a sudden it was a power, sort of like Long Beach Poly. Thats my strength. Longtime Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair announced Thursday that this season will be his last with the Aggies, with the 76-year-old . "I've got our kids and grandkids up in Arkansas with me," Nan said. I had to rebuild Arkansas, but A&M was the hardest rebuild because when I got here, they were horrible. 42 (UConn wins Dance; WBB ratings boom), 'I'm very honored and humbled': Gary Blair discusses Hall of Fame honor. Whether youre shopping Way Day 2023 or Walmart, theres an al fresco set for you. Request a review copy, Professors: His teams won seven straight conference championships, and appeared in the NCAA Tournament six times. A Coaching Life - tamupress.com TexAgs is an independent site and is not affiliated with Texas A&M University. Hes bald and Ive got a full head of hair, so Im loving it.
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