From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

Texas Western College Basketball Team

On March 19, 1966, Texas Western College [now the University of Texas at El Paso] defeated the University of Kentucky in the NCAA Basketball Championship game played at the University of Maryland's Cole Field House. It was the first time a team with five starting African American players defeated a team with five white starting players. The UK team was coached by Adolph Rupp (1901-1977) and the Texas Western team was coached by Don Haskins (1930-2008).

For more see And the Walls Came Tumbling Down: Kentucky, Texas Western, and the Game that Changed American Sports, by F. Fitzpatrick; Adolph Rupp by R. Rice; and Glory Road (book) by D. Haskins and D. Wetzel; and Glory Road (DVD), by J. Lucas, et al.

Kentucky County & Region

Read about Fayette County, Kentucky in Wikipedia.

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Item Relations

Cite This NKAA Entry:

“Texas Western College Basketball Team,” Notable Kentucky African Americans Database, accessed October 11, 2026, https://nkaa.uky.edu/nkaa/items/show/219.

Last modified: 2026-09-07 16:41:38