For 55 years, UTEP has stood as the only Texas school to win a men’s basketball national championship. In 1966, legendary coach, Don Haskins, broke down basketball’s color barrier while simultaneously breaking down the University of Kentucky’s fellow legendary coach Adolph Rupp’s squad to win the NCAA Championship title. Haskins never flinched under pressure and was once quoted saying, “I played for the best coach who ever lived, Henry Iba, I wasn’t intimidated by Adolf Rupp.”
The history of sports at UTEP is full of moments that have inspired future generations of athletes and coaches.