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