Sometimes I want to do things with my wife and my grandkids. I had to put silk flowers in the urinals at away games because we always had to use the boys locker room as visitors. If youve ever spent any time with Blair, you know the story or pieces of it, anyway. The Louisiana Tech position paid $22,500 and also provided a six-year-old brown station wagon. I started out with something else in mind and I ended up on this path, coaching all these young women over the years. We (coaching staff) spent two hours last night with current recruits, Blair said. There is the good, the bad and the ugly of social media. 10-2 This Year. All rights reserved. tears streaming down the faces of former players . 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. Those misses included big names like Brittney Griner, who went to Baylor, and Nneka Ogwumike, who played at Stanford. In the final game, the USA beat South Korea to finish the competition with a perfect 93 record. 3. She is the answer going forward with this program.. None of the big six major cities in Texas had womens athletics before Title IX. The games and wins, sure. Gary Blairs teams have earned an NCAA tournament berthevery year from2006-2021. Brent met his wife, KBTX . Then I give them responsibility and let them work. Going into the season, he ranked eighth among active Division I coaches for career coaching victories. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair announced on Thursday that this season will be the last of his historic career. You get to appreciate what coaching is. [3] Despite Blair's winning record at Arkansas and taking the program to its first ever Final Four just four years earlier, then-women's program athletic director Bev Lewis relieved Blair of his coaching duties after the season. 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. "She doesn't have a job and I don't have a job," Gary said. . 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. When I got to Arkansas I needed a national recruiter, so I hired Tom Collen from Purdue. We kept winning in every sport, and I was the head coach of all four women's sports at South Oak Cliff. & Nancy Foran, Media: Melissa Gregg is a Dallas police officer. Were playing in a good arena, Blair said, and we won in Austin earlier this year.. Oct 28, 2021. Blair endorsed her as his eventual successor. He was previously head womens basketball coach at the University of Arkansas and Stephen F. Austin State University. I have no regrets and just hold my colleagues, my players and the game in such high regards. The coming season will almost certainly include. What's tough right now is that Tuesday was the first day on the road for all my coaches. We were up five in OT and we struggled so much, but Georgia played great. I'm trying to adjust. Bobby Knight would have a hard time coaching today, and Barmore. The first five years at Tech we were national champs, national champs, second, third, and Elite Eight. "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?" "It's who's going to retire first who's going to win that battle," said a grinning Gary, 66. 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. Blair, with a slight grin, also realized the game in the Erwin Center offers the chance for a jab at A&Ms (still) biggest rival and new Longhorns coach Vic Schaefer, his former top assistant at A&M. You have to get outside. Blair will leave Aggieland as the winningest coach in Texas A&M history. 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. When I max out, Im juggling lot of hats. Division regular season and conference tournament champion Blair stated, "It wasnt the right fit or the right time. But hes still the most positive man and most popular coach in this town. 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 is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School and Sam Houston State University, where he played baseball. I dont want to just win ball games; I want to make a difference and be in every game. The couple doesn't really discuss where they'll end up. Garrido won five national titles while leading Cal State Fullerton and Texas, while Blair achieved what few figured possible in inheriting the Big 12s worst basketball program in 2003: a national title in 2011. I thought Id be a baseball coach, but after four and a half years of college I quit for a while and went to California to take a summer job as a restaurant manager. 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. I took the job at Stephen F and I was smart enough not to replace (longtime Louisiana State coach) Sue Gunter or Leon Barmore when he wanted out (of Louisiana Tech). Abe Lemons once described the difference between coaching and most other jobs. She was named to the Texas High School Hall of Fame and she was the first female athletic director in Dallas ISD in 2001. I turned it down, he 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. Vic turned it down and came with me to Texas A&M, and Amber stayed. He has been a member of Rotary International for more than 20 years. Just last week Texans GM Nick Caserio was deflecting rumors of a possible departure. Relationships like that make it difficult for Blair to walk away. I want to be the first coach at A&M to leave since Bear Bryant, on his own terms. Somebody that might be better than me can get the job done better. Thats why its time. On Thursday night, Blair will coach the Texas A&M womens team at home for the last time, as the school names the court at Reed Arena after him. Blairs coaching tree includes Mississippi State coach Vic Schaefer and Arkansas coach Mike Neighbors, whose teams Texas A&M faces in Southeastern Conference play. [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. The only friend Ive ever hired is Vic; everyone else I hire for their strengths. 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. I dont know whats more important to them. He was with me two or three years. During his first season, the Lady Razorbacks won 15 of their 29 games, their first winning season in several years. Joni Taylor is doing very well. "They just feed off each other so well.". Im very honest with the kids and their parents: when you earn your playing time, you will get your playing time. [3], It was during his time at SFA that Blair met his future assistant coach Vic Schaefer, who was coaching the Sam Houston State Bearkats (one of SFA's main rivals) at the time. The sport was narrowly on his radar in 1972 when he was a PE teacher at South Oak Cliff in Dallas. However, I know that it is time for this to be my final season. Blair joined TexAgs Radio on Monday morning to discuss life after basketball and so much more. Around that time, the school offered him the head baseball job hed coveted. [13], The following year the Aggies improved, earning a postseason invitation for the first time since 1996. He was also inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2023. The years he spent at South Oak Cliff were some of his favorites. And you suddenly have these opportunities where women arent having to go play overseas or just walk away. People ask me how retirement is every day. . Hed built a program from scratch and helped bring visibility to girls basketball in the state. I play golf in the mornings and try to walk all the time. I love it enough. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. No way did I think I would still be coaching now. 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. Wishing you all the best in your retirement. 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. South Carolina's Aliyah Boston recorded her 20th straight double-double, an SEC record, as the Gamecocks rolled in Texas A&M coach Gary Blair's final home game. Ive been at basketball schools all the way, to (A&M). I wait for people to screw up and then go in on the white horse and resurrect the program. Blair will become just the third women's coach, along with Tennessee's Pat Summitt and NC State's Kay Yow, to have a court named for them. "We couldn't have done this 20 years ago, because we didn't have cellphones.". A few of them came in and said they needed a basketball coach, he said. Every one of the players he helped coach during that tournament later went on to play in the WNBA. He should do it on his terms. Ive got a saying: today I gave all I had, and what I kept Ive lost forever. I can tell you everything about Wimbledon because I got to watch a lot of it. 2:28p, 3/5/20. Hes done tremendous things in the game of basketball. Ive never fired a person in my life, back to restaurant manager days. Thomas Graning, FRE / Associated Press COLLEGE STATION The shortest. But things have changed so much. We hired assistant Amy Sheridan, who played at Sam Houston State with Vic. Pam Green went on to star at Missouri. Then I joined the Marine Corps. The Blairs own a home in the Traditions development in Bryan that Nan designed. Gary Blair cuts down a net after winning the 2011 national championship. "This little, good-looking redhead walked by," Blair said. Been engaged a year to a wonderful lady. A Dallas native, Blair was the head coach at South Oak Cliff High school from 1973-1980. Seems like a disproportionately hostile response. It was very good. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair will retire after the 2021-22 season, officially making the announcement in a school release Thursday morning. I ended up coaching women's basketball because there wasn't a coaching job when I took the PE job at South Oak Cliff. [3][4], Blair is also actively involved with the community. Dennis stayed and became the best he could be. I got the girls involved in an intramural program, and that's when Title IX was passed. Joni Taylor. Exam copy availability, Swaim-Paup-Foran Spirit of Sport Series, sponsored by James C. 74 & Debra Parchman Swaim, Nancy & T. Edgar Paup 74, & Joseph Wm. That was a special time for the game, he said. The 2023 NFL Draft runs April 2729 live from Kansas City, Missouri. Coachs Chair: Gary Blair, Texas A&M University, No. We support him.. The focus instead will be on Blairs final season. I just need an arena with 94 feet to be able to compete., - Gary Blair on being honored in opposing gyms this season. We have recently updated ourPrivacy Policy. He had to be a sports fan. Social media is now as important as the three-point line. What I haven't gotten to do is spend a lot of time with my granddaughter and grandson.". Blair was intrigued by the universitys facilities, its athletic prowess in other sports and its location. Last: How long do you want to ignore this user? 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.. TexAgs is an independent site and is not affiliated with Texas A&M University. During his last six seasons, his teams were consistently ranked in the final AP Top 25 polls. You know, you just remember all those wonderful things, he said. After his tour, he lived in the Los Angeles area, running a restaurant in Costa Mesa and Culver City. Its also important to get kids involved in other things on campus besides basketball. Gary Blair is the son of Lee, a plaster foreman, and Jean, a housewife. 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. They were ready to go. 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. Not too many players transfer from Texas A&M. Athletic Director Ross Bjork said that she would be among those under consideration. Weve lost recent games to South Carolina and Tennessee, but we were right there until the last possession. Didn't realize I said something inappropriate. He loved the players. All rights reserved. Its still difficult to describe the scene after the final buzzer sounded, because the moment was just so damned surreal, writes head coach Gary Blair following the conclusion of the title game of the 2011 NCAA Division I womens basketball tournament. Available, Media: I can get something out of all three of those. We stayed another five years. 0 Replies | Thanks Coach. "When they're together, you can just tell how much they care about each other," A&M guard Sydney Carter said. Texas A&M was picked to finish second in the SEC preseason coaches' poll, and is ranked No. Flash02. All of a sudden it was a power, sort of like Long Beach Poly. He got the nickname "The Worm" from playing pinball back in the day. The game was tied at 45 all, when the USA hit several free throws to take a lead they would not give up. We missed last year.. He said thats the right time to retire because the program is strong and he needs to spend more time with his wife, Kyla, and their children and nine grandchildren. [7], In October 1980, Blair was offered an assistant coaching job at Louisiana Tech by then-head coach Sonja Hogg. Thought it was strange she never moved to College Station. I wanted to coach baseball, the former Texas Tech outfielder said. He has also held his "Celebrity Golf Classic" to benefit Special Olympics for over 15 years; recently, the program has raised over $100,000 annually. . She was a nurse at Parkland Memorial who was moving into The Square apartments - Gary's longtime stomping grounds - in Dallas. I dont hire bobblehead dolls. Blair did the impossible. It took 10 more years before he decided to step away. 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. Im around all the other events; Im the only coach thats in a civic club. He still talks to others from those teams frequently. Thats a long-winded answer but thats who I am.. 3 with eyes on more, while the men have not even played since Jan. 30. We have a little travel in our plans, and I have a busy month of September coming up. That team, that year, Blair said. I was used to that for 50 years, but now, it's a little bit different. Its really something.. Blair notched his 750th career win last month. He even gave out his home address for the lucky first four who showed up. I turned it down to stay with the women. The USA came back, but was still behind at halftime. The Make or Break For Jimbo's Tenure, Cromartie taking shots at the coaching staff. "Thank you and Gig 'Em. Then Arkansas made the mistake of not hiring him when I left. [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]. They offered me the head baseball job and a football coordinator job, but I turned them down to stay with the women. 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 . Head Coach. He began his career as an assistant at Louisiana Tech between 1980-85 as the Lady Techsters won two national titles, including the first NCAA women's basketball tournament in 1982 season. Earlier this season. flashbulbs popping as the Aggie Band played triumphantly . Those impressive accomplishments arent good enough for Blair, who began his career in 1973 as a coach at South Oak Cliff High School in Dallas. Blair can keep going, listing players from those South Oak Cliff teams. He says this is home and it feels right., I sat there and just listened to him and how he could express himself with everything hes going through. They didnt miss. The team's success was noticed by their fans, who increased home attendance enough to allow the school to rank in the top 12 of NCAA Division 1 attendance leaders. In womens basketball, we went to state the first year we could go to state in 1976. Blair has been at Texas A&M since 2003, leading the Aggies to a national championship in 2011. 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. You think of all the people over the years, he said. Kit Lyle was with me at Stephen F., and more recently he was Chennedy Carters coach for her last two years of high school Mike Neighbors was a high school coach at Cabbot making $72,000 a year. They asked for volunteers to coach (girls) basketball (at South Oak Cliff), and the girls next door asked me if Id coach. Pub Date: 01/27/2017 A new professional league, and you were seeing more people at college games around that time, too. teacher, while waiting for an offer to coach the baseball team, but when asked to coach the girls' team, he accepted. I do not miss that, but I miss the evaluations. And I truly love it. A group of girls from South Oak Cliff were ready to play any and every sport they could. The two appear to have only one regret concerning their long-distance arrangement. I THINK she heads up the Arky nursing school. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair, 76, announced on Thursday that he will retire at the end of this season. Wed take the kids home after practice just load up cars take them home. Fantasy women's basketball: Will the addition of Candace Parker shake up fantasy values on the Aces. 42 (UConn wins Dance; WBB ratings boom), 'I'm very honored and humbled': Gary Blair discusses Hall of Fame honor. Slocum, who has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments, helped him make peace with his decision. Blair didnt find it easy upon his arrival from Arkansas nearly two decades ago. 28 color photos. Sport makes us better. Humility. I play golf about four days a week in the mornings. He is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School and Sam Houston State University, where he played baseball. Blair, 65, also became the oldest women's coach to win a national championship. Early in his high school career, he was the most average guy that you had ever seen. She will be somebody we will keep an eye on throughout the year just as we will a lot of different coaches around the country.. In the NCAA tournament, the team lost to eventual national champion Tennessee. Request a review copy, Professors: Blair still marvels at the serendipity that brought him to coaching. In the 1970s the kids had to wash their own clothes. This outlines how and why we collect, store and use your personal data when you use our website. What can you say about it? You can't stay inside the whole day. 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.