HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 1-1 WHEREAS, The Legislature of the State of Texas is pleased to 1-2 extend congratulations to Don Haskins, longtime basketball coach of 1-3 The University of Texas at El Paso, for the prestigious honor 1-4 bestowed on him; and 1-5 WHEREAS, The highly regarded coach who has won a total of 687 1-6 games and coached in over 1,000 games in his phenomenal career at 1-7 The University of Texas at El Paso was elected to the Basketball 1-8 Hall of Fame recently; and 1-9 WHEREAS, He began his remarkable career coaching the boys' 1-10 and girls' basketball teams at Benjamin High School in Benjamin, 1-11 Texas, where he led the boys' squad to a 20-win season; and 1-12 WHEREAS, When Coach Haskins accepted the head coaching job at 1-13 The University of Texas at El Paso in 1961, he had already 1-14 established himself as an outstanding basketball coach among his 1-15 colleagues; and 1-16 WHEREAS, Over the next 35 years Coach Haskins led the Miners 1-17 to seven Western Athletic Conference championships and 14 National 1-18 Collegiate Athletic Association appearances; and 1-19 WHEREAS, The seventh all-time winning coach in National 1-20 Collegiate Athletic Association history, Don Haskins was the first 1-21 coach to win a national championship with five starters who were 1-22 African-American; and 1-23 WHEREAS, In 1966, his team won the National Collegiate 1-24 Athletic Association title game over the heavily favored Kentucky 2-1 Wildcats by a score of 72-65; and 2-2 WHEREAS, Overcoming adversity in his personal life, the 2-3 dedicated coach suffered a heart attack and had to undergo triple 2-4 bypass surgery last year, but he rebounded to return to coaching 2-5 and another successful season; and 2-6 WHEREAS, Throughout his notable career, Coach Haskins has 2-7 been supported by the love and devotion of his wife, Mary, and 2-8 their children; they are the proud parents of three fine sons, 2-9 Brent, Steve, and David; and 2-10 WHEREAS, Coach Haskins has become an icon who has a passion 2-11 for coaching, winning, coyote hunting, and entertaining and who 2-12 allows the spotlight to shine on his players, the school, and the 2-13 town but never on himself; and 2-14 WHEREAS, Coach Haskins exemplifies the best in collegiate 2-15 athletics, and he is a credit to his school, his city, and his 2-16 state; his contributions to college basketball have added 2-17 immeasurably to the sport for the players, their coaches, and their 2-18 fans; now, therefore, be it 2-19 RESOLVED, That the 75th Legislature of the State of Texas 2-20 hereby commend and applaud Coach Don Haskins on his selection to 2-21 the Basketball Hall of Fame with best wishes for continued success 2-22 in the years ahead; and, be it further 3-1 RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be prepared for the 3-2 distinguished gentleman as an expression of the esteem of the Texas 3-3 Legislature. Moreno Chavez Serna Pickett Haggerty _______________________________ _______________________________ President of the Senate Speaker of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 78 was adopted by the House on March 20, 1997, by a non-record vote. _______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 78 was adopted by the Senate on March 26, 1997, by a viva-voce vote. _______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: _____________________ Date _____________________ Governor