Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial. What can you say about it? He was raised in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Dallas. I can tell you everything about Wimbledon because I got to watch a lot of it. He was raised in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Dallas. [17], On April 3, 2011, the Aggies defeated top-seeded Stanford 6362 to advance to the national title game. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair announced on Thursday that this season will be the last of his historic career. Well, I get the opportunity to have about 35 to 38 still left in me this year. ". Blair said in a statement on Thursday. Then I joined the Marine Corps. "I always evaluate myself on: Am I giving everything I have, is my health good and am I still able to make an impact on young lives?" "Thank you and Gig 'Em. They didnt miss. It will be nearly impossible for Texas A&M to replace women's basketball coach Gary Blair, who announced Thursday that he will retire at the end of the 2021-22 season. A&M (23-2) not only believed it deserved one of the four top seeds as SEC regular-season champion, but the Aggies were mystified they were shoved under the Texas Longhorns roof for the opener. [9], Blair was inducted into the Ladyjack Hall of Fame during halftime of the Ladyjacks game against the Aggies on December 2, 2008. None of the big six major cities in Texas had womens athletics before Title IX. [14] This marked the first time in Aggie history that the women's basketball team had earned consecutive NCAA tournament berths. I'm trying to adjust. We missed out on plenty of them, he said, laughing. . Only two tickets were claimed. Thanks Coach. Post-spoiler alert: The NCAA chose Austin, and the Longhorns advanced to the College World Series. COLLEGE STATION Shelby Metcalf once explained why he had no problem recruiting to a then-all-male military institute in Texas A&M in the early 1960s. [3], Overall, in his first three years as the head coach of the Aggies, A&M home attendance increased 156%, with a school-record 11,088 fans watching the team play Baylor University. "My wife and I want to do some traveling starting next summerwe've got a lot of places picked out," Blair said. I flunked out of architecture, which didnt make me eligible for baseball. [12] In his first season with Texas A&M, Blair worked very hard to attract fans to the women's basketball games, and by the end of the season attendance had increased 71 percent over the previous year, the best increase in the Big 12 Conference. I was always standing and coaching. He published his autobiography, A Coaching Life, last year. He handled the defense, and it was the first time Id really turned over the defense to an assistant coach. [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. I had to rebuild Arkansas, but A&M was the hardest rebuild because when I got here, they were horrible. I am missing work, and I am missing relationships. Exam copy availability, 2023 Texas A&M University Press | Orders: 800-826-8911 | John H. Lindsey Building, Lewis St. | College Station, Texas 77843-4354. got fired (in 2002) he could have went to LSU, Baylor, Houston or a lot of other places. He figures to be honored in opposing gyms. Then I give them responsibility and let them work. Social media is now as important as the three-point line. The USA team won the game and the championship 7262. He led the Aggies to the NCAA national championship in 2011. If youve ever spent any time with Blair, you know the story or pieces of it, anyway. He was with me two or three years. The games and wins, sure. I switched my major to kinesiology. We hired assistant Amy Sheridan, who played at Sam Houston State with Vic. [4], In his seven seasons at South Oak Cliff, he set a state record with five consecutive state tournament appearances and a 239-18 record. A&M's Blair, Arkansas-based wife make marriage work. From 1993-2003, he was the head coach at Arkansas. In the spring of 1977, Blair and the Bears won their first state championship. Beyond the trophies, beyond the impressive won-lost record compiled over more than four decades of coaching, beyond even the ungrudging professional respect he has achieved among his peers in a fiercely competitive occupation, Gary Blair values the images, moments, and memories collected during a life spent doing what he loves most: coaching . Joni Taylor is doing very well. 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. The beers were in the apartment office where she walked in, so I told my friends, 'I'm going to get a beer. I miss talking about the game I watched the other night. 0. A few of them came in and said they needed a basketball coach, he said. 2023 Maroon & White LP. It will be a symbol of all those that helped build this program and all the Aggies that battle on that court, not just in women's basketball, but in men's basketball and volleyball as well. I told Sue that two things have to happen: you have to come with me and my wife has to come with me. teacher, while waiting for an offer to coach the baseball team, but when asked to coach the girls' team, he accepted. Blair is a member of seven halls of fame, including the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. Texas A&M's Gary Blair is retiring. Sonja Hogg is the first lady of college basketball: she knew how to dress, how to press, and she knew how to recruit. I love it enough. Brent was named national beat writer of the year by the Football Writers Association of America for 2021, the first Texan to earn the honor, but hes most proud on the sports front of earning Dayton Invitational Basketball Tournament MVP honors in 1988. Gary Blair Court at Reed Arena will be officially dedicated during a pregame . At the time of the offer, Blair was making an annual salary of $22,000. "She doesn't have a job and I don't have a job," Gary said. Two days later, the Aggies defeated Notre Dame 76-70 in the championship game to win the tournament for the first time in school history. I lived for that. Were playing in a good arena, Blair said, and we won in Austin earlier this year.. One of my biggest pet peeves is adults who refuse to admit to mistakes. We support him.. He is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School and Sam Houston State University, where he played baseball. Thank you. They offered me the head baseball job and a football coordinator job, but I turned them down to stay with the women. When theyre young we do a lot of individual practices to keep improving their skill level. Whether you're walking for exercise or playing pickleballlike my wife does on Monday nights. 8 b&w photos. After this season his 50th coaching Blair will retire and leave a stamp the size of Texas on the game of basketball. The USA came back, but was still behind at halftime. our players and coaches wildly celebrating the biggest win in womens basketball history at Texas A&M . "[5], After his graduation from Texas Tech, Blair hoped to find a high school baseball coaching job in Lubbock, but he was offered the physical education coach gig[tone] at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas, a predominantly Black school. While there he coached with Leon Barmore, who was co-head coach with Hogg at Tech for Blairs last three seasons in Ruston, La., before Barmore took over the program. Texas A&M said nearly 60 of Blair's former assistants or players became head coaches, including six currently at the Division I level: LSU's Kim Mulkey, Texas' Vic Schaefer, Arkansas' Mike Neighbors, Auburn's Johnnie Harris, Georgia Tech's Nell Fortner and Lamar's A'Quonesia Franklin. The sport was narrowly on his radar in 1972 when he was a PE teacher at South Oak Cliff in Dallas. Gary Blair is the son of Lee, a plaster foreman, and Jean, a housewife. [21], Blair has received the following honors over his coaching career:[22], Blair was inducted in the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in June 2013. 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. I almost found out (against Georgia earlier this month) when we got beat in overtime. Blair didnt find it easy upon his arrival from Arkansas nearly two decades ago. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. In the 200708 season, Blair led his squad to a school-first NCAA Elite Eight appearance and a 298 overall record. He was 239-18 at South Oak Cliff. Fantasy women's basketball: Will the addition of Candace Parker shake up fantasy values on the Aces? But hes still the most positive man and most popular coach in this town. I was used to that for 50 years, but now, it's a little bit different. 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. 2023 Maroon & White LP. Things get started with the dinner Thursday, May 6 at the Brazos County Expo at 6 p.m. Plates are $20 for all-you-can-eat catfish. I sat down two days ago on his front porch and listened to his problems and everything he has done. Blair still marvels at the serendipity that brought him to coaching. I was in the middle of that with recruiting. Fantasy women's basketball: Whose numbers could fall in 2023? [7] He also started the boys and girls golf team, and served as its first coach as well. The two appear to have only one regret concerning their long-distance arrangement. As older coaches, we have to change with todays kids. Now divorced, Blair has a son and a daughter, and three grandchildren. 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. "That makes this harder on Gary. Then-UT baseball coach Augie Garrido had no qualms predicting the NCAAs intent when determining whether Texas or the University of Houston, the latter of which sported the better record that season, would host a super regional in 2014. Such amusing (to outsiders) situations are when Blair is at his best. So many things happened that I will never forget . I turned it down, he said. After the season, the Texas A&M Board of Regents approved a one-year contract extension through 2012, and a $150,000 salary raise to $800,000 annually. Like Blair, Slocum is the winningest coach in A&M history in his sport. Look at the impact hes had on a countless number of people. The program had solidified itself as one of the best in Texas, and Blair had established a foothold in basketball. Its also important to get kids involved in other things on campus besides basketball. I am a product of Title IX and young ladies standing up for me and saying they wanted to be coached by somebody who cared. . The years he spent at South Oak Cliff were some of his favorites. Im around all the other events; Im the only coach thats in a civic club. Its time to sit up in the stands and do what you dosecond guess the coaches.. She was ahead of her time. 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 just want to be that guy that hopefully did it the right way.". 13 UCLA contains Stanford to avenge previous loss, Coaches credit mental strength of athletes during pandemic season, Indiana, Arizona are first-time dancers in the Elite 8, Clutch Nixon, Aggies ready for the Sweet 16. "This is an incredible honor," Blair said. Ive got a saying: today I gave all I had, and what I kept Ive lost forever. My all-city friend came to see us play the other day, and hes the bench warmer now. He would drive me to ball games and couldnt come in and watch (due to NCAA rules), so he would sit in the parking lot and work with what whatever Internet we had around 2000. 3 in the country and be 30-0? responded Blair, before having a little fun at the expense of one of college basketballs all-time powerhouses. Blair is one of only three all-time DI womens basketball coaches to lead two different teams to the Final Four, and is one of eight coaches to lead three different teams to the NCAA Tournament. [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]. Texas A&M's Gary Blair Texas associate head coach Johnnie Harris has worked alongside Vic Schaefer since 2007. Melissa Gregg is a Dallas police officer. tears streaming down the faces of former players . In basketball I stayed in shape, but I couldnt shoot a lick. Blair joined TexAgs Radio on Monday morning to discuss life after basketball and so much more. Where is this coming from?, We understand. All rights reserved. His teams have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 15 consecutive seasons. This is my 19th year (at A&M), Blair said with a cracking voice and misty eyes. I have enough energy. It wasnt long before we saw he was a money-making machine. The USA fell behind; Slovakia had a 2215 lead. Relationships like that make it difficult for Blair to walk away. He was also interviewing for the New Mexico State job, which he didnt want to take. Seems like a disproportionately hostile response. Blair arrived at Texas A&M in 2003,[11] taking over the Big 12 Conference's worst team, which had not had a winning season in seven years. He didn't play high school sports because South Oak Cliff was so hard to make teams back in those days. I miss going out and talking shop with your colleagues and then getting up and doing it again. Gary Blair - Women's Basketball Coach - Texas A&M Athletics - 12thMan.com Gary Blair Title Head Coach Twitter CoachGaryBlair E-Mail gblair@athletics.tamu.edu THE BLAIR FILE COACHING HONORS Women's Basketball Hall of Fame Inductee: 2013 New York Athletic Club Winged Foot Award: 2011 The Louisiana Tech position paid $22,500 and also provided a six-year-old brown station wagon. It took 10 more years before he decided to step away. They were ready to go. [4] He also played a year of baseball for the Red Raidershe was a defensive center fielder with self-described poor hitting skills. Blair was 65 when he won that title with the Aggies. 9 seed for the NCAA Tournament and reached the NCAA Final Four. And thats OK. I want to be like R.C.. Blair did the impossible. 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. Blair and Lewis did not get along, and their professional relationship became even more strained once the Arkansas athletic programs were divided and Lewis became the women's AD. Can you talk about your experience coaching at Louisiana Tech, at the dawning of womens collegiate basketball? Here's how to score the best deals on tickets, plus all the free promotions you won't want to miss. I left the high school game in 1980 when Barmore and Hogg called me up. Around that time, the school offered him the head baseball job hed coveted. Thats a long-winded answer but thats who I am.. In 2003, Gary was hired from Arkansas to revive the Big 12's worst program in A&M. It was the best decision.. 1 of 5 Texas A&M head coach Gary Blair talks with his players in the first half of an NCAA college basketball game against Vanderbilt at the women's Southeastern Conference tournament Wednesday . 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. A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, the 76-year-old Blair has a career record of 838-333in 36 seasons at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and Texas A&M. We (coaching staff) spent two hours last night with current recruits, Blair said. Blair, 76, has won 838 games in his career at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and A&M, where he arrived in 2003. Well hold on to these and were not finished recruiting.. 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. They used to ride in vans and wear tube socks. Just last week Texans GM Nick Caserio was deflecting rumors of a possible departure. He netted a national APSE second-place finish for breaking the Dennis Franchione secret newsletter scandal in 2007, and his coverage of Texas A&Ms move to the SEC from the Big 12 also netted a third-place finish nationally in 2012. Slocum, who has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments, helped him make peace with his decision. In other sports Im pulling for the veteran coaches. GARY BLAIR, head women's basketball coach at Texas A&M University since 2003, led the Aggies to an NCAA national championship in 2011. Coach Gary Blair and the A&M women are ranked No. 23 in the AP preseason poll. ", "I love Aggieland, and I love Fayetteville," Gary said. Sometimes you just go with the flow, and dont take life so seriously in non-serious moments. When I go back to reunions I feel good because a lot of those old people dont nearly look as good. . To me, thats the least of my worries. Vic turned it down and came with me to Texas A&M, and Amber stayed. 3. His two sisters were over six foot. Been engaged a year to a wonderful lady. Prairie View A&M wants to leave the Texas A&M University System. Nan visits Aggieland about a dozen times a year, and Gary visits Fayetteville about five times a year. Early in his first season, he offered four free tickets to a game during an interview on a local radio station. Ive missed too many ball games, too many cheerleading things, he said. Division regular season and conference tournament champion kissing my wife on the floor of Conseco Fieldhouse . "She had white scrubs on and looked like a nurse. Our fans were getting restless, he offered in his typical bemused delivery. 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. Her first impression of the convivial coach and his recruiting ability? "I am fortunate that my health is still great, and I believe that I can still make an impact on our student-athletes and that I can give all my effort every single day. We won state the next year in 1977. In 1977 we won our first state championship, and they asked me to be the head boys basketball coach and the coordinator of junior varsity football. "Aggieland is a special place and has always been my destination," Blair said. Mobile phones. You name it. He has photos of them in his office at A&M, former players and their families grinning alongside him. 10-2 This Year. It took me two weeks to make up my mind. 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. Last: How long do you want to ignore this user? Been divorced for about 4 years. Blair will leave Aggieland as the winningest coach in Texas A&M history. . But things have changed so much. I had to play the Title IX card to get a director of basketball operations. I apologize. You think of all the people over the years, he said. [3], Blair made history with his 19971998 team. I want to be the first coach at A&M to leave since Bear Bryant, on his own terms. 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. Legendary Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair retired at the end of the 2021-22 season, but he is still a fixture in and around Aggieland. You dont ever say that, but sometimes youve got to admit somebody might be better than you particularly in the changing world that were living in today.. Blair joined TexAgs Radio on Monday morning to discuss life after basketball and so much more. Blair endorsed her as his eventual successor. Taylor succeeds hall of famer Gary Blair and is inheriting a program that is one of eight schools in the past 20 years to have a national title. Hes bald and Ive got a full head of hair, so Im loving it. 9 Replies | I didnt want them to go back home because at that time there were a lot of single parents out working, which meant kids had a lot of time between 4 and 7 p.m. to get into trouble. Gary Blair Kelly Bond-White Kayla Wells Texas A&M Women's Basketball Blair's legacy honored despite dropping final home game to South Carolina By Olin Buchanan February 25, 2022 2 4,578 Tweet Share Jump to Discussion Whether you're a teenager or a 76-year-old basketball coach, leaving home isn't easy. Tennessee coach Kellie Harper and Texas A&M coach Gary Blair meet after an NCAA college basketball game Thursday, Jan. 6, 2022, in Knoxville, Tenn. (Scott Keller/The Daily Times via AP) Generator vs power station: Which one is right for you? 9 Replies | That allowed me to hire Mike, and it was the best hire Ive ever had. As he had done at every stop so far, Blair got to Nacogdoches a small town in East Texas and started winning. We cant get separation on teams, no one plays us close, our defense is solid but were not stopping people theyre scoring on us. We were just coming off of a state championship team and I had just got married. Brent met his wife, KBTX . Then had Amber Nichols Shirey, who ended up staying there she is still the director of basketball operations there. She is the answer going forward with this program.. 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. He announced in October that this would be his final season after 19 seasons at Texas A&M. I brought Sue Donohoe with me, who was a great recruiter and a real people person. When I max out, Im juggling lot of hats. Save on AeroGarden indoor herb growing kits at Amazon, Create a bonsai tree out of bricks with this $40 LEGO set, Preorder 'The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom' today, Astros vs Phillies: How to get tickets and free swag this weekend, There are a ton of great patio furniture sets on sale right now. He ranks 12th in Division I history and fourth among active coaches. No way did I think I would still be coaching now. But he drew in others, like Sydney Colson and Danielle Adams around the same time, both of whom were on the Aggies 2011 national championship team. "We both have careers. He just mentioned his fiance during halftime of the Ark/Aub game - I know I'm out of touch, but I had no idea he was even divorced, much less ready to get married again! Three years earlier, Garrido had deadpanned why it was important UT had made the CWS in 2011. Only the last five years in high school we were allowed to go to state. He thanked a myriad of administrators, coaches and current and former players for his success. You get to appreciate what coaching is. I started out with something else in mind and I ended up on this path, coaching all these young women over the years. Blair is well-known and well-liked throughout the SEC. Gary Blair is the son of Lee, a plaster foreman, and Jean, a housewife. I pull for all the older men and women. Then Arkansas made the mistake of not hiring him when I left. (Elsa / Getty Images). . The couple doesn't really discuss where they'll end up. Thats why its time. 10,331 Views | Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial. Baseball was my best sport I starred but I was 120 pounds even though I worked out, and I never got a double my whole high school career. All three of us were six months apart in age. She was the first 6-3 kid who could play all five positions. [3], Blair's first head coaching experience at the collegiate level came at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas. The only friend Ive ever hired is Vic; everyone else I hire for their strengths. Texas A&M announced on Thursday that its basketball court will be named in honor of retiring women's coach Gary Blair. [12], Much of his recruiting is done in-state,[15] and Blair says that he recruits students for their offensive showing and then teaches them to play defense later. The transfer portal, the constant debates about compensating athletes, a pandemic that canceled high school basketball seasons and an NCAA Tournament, the changes in recruiting in a world that has turned to virtual meetings at a high rate Blair would rather sit back and watch the game evolve around all of the new challenges rather than be in the midst of it. That was a special time for the game, he said. Sometimes you have to wait for things. Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, right, and his wife, Nan, make a long-distance relationship work. TexAgs is an independent site and is not affiliated with Texas A&M University. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair announced on Thursday that this season will be the last of his historic career. Arkansas, Gary's former school and Nan's current school, and Dayton are the other two entrants in the College Station event. Im a product of Title XI, as I was the first man to coach women in the city of Dallas. But there werent a lot of high school coaching jobs available. Unfortunately, these kids today, before they get finished with a practice theyre talking to their supporters, their friends or their mama about their bad practice. See our updatedPrivacy Policyto find out more about cookies and how we use your data. Back then I felt like the girls needed me. 2,868 Views | His teams won three state Class 4A championships, in 1977, 1978, and 1980, and finished as the runner-up in 1979 by only two points. He's nine wins from being the winningest basketball coach (men's or women's) in Texas A&M history. During his first season, the Lady Razorbacks won 15 of their 29 games, their first winning season in several years. Blair, 65, also became the oldest women's coach to win a national championship. "Then our daughter (Paige) and I started a business together, grandchildren had come along, and things just kept moving on.". [3] Blair was inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame in 2013 and the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 2023. During my last year at South Oak Cliff, we went 40-0 with perhaps one of the best teams ever. You know, you just remember all those wonderful things, he said. Shelby Metcalf, who coached the men's team for 27 seasons, is the school's winningest coach. 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 set to retire at season's end. But I made an attempt to get them all here.. Blair, who began his career in 1980 as an assistant at Louisiana Tech, is a member of seven halls of fame, including the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame. . Congratulations on his upcoming (I assume) nuptials! 2:28p, 3/5/20. He is the kind of guy who meets you once, sees you years later and remembers your name and some small random fact from a conversation you had. Theres 17 other national championships we didnt win. 2, Connecticut?. I am a product of Title IX, Blair said. He got a U.S. Army draft notice in 1969, and decided to enlist in the U.S. Marine Corps, completing a two-year tour of duty. Stroud: Analyzing two pro days, Q&A with Texans chairman Cal McNair on GM, new coach and draft, Entering 2nd season, Jeremy Pea a celeb who doesn't act like one. 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Early in his high school career, he was the most average guy that you had ever seen. 2023 Maroon & White LP. Brent is the author of four published books about Texas A&M, three related to A&M athletics. He should do it on his terms.
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