The first year we were a Cinderella team and went to the Final Four. Brent met his wife, KBTX . On March 29, 2011, Gary Blair led the program to its first ever Final Four appearance by defeating top-seeded Baylor 58-46. 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. How will you know when its time to retire? "They make a difference," Nan said. 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 . "Then our daughter (Paige) and I started a business together, grandchildren had come along, and things just kept moving on.". A Dallas native, Blair was the head coach at South Oak Cliff High school from 1973-1980. Ask Liucci: Spring football takeaways, A&M's spring sports & more, Follow The Money - Ep. Available, Media:
I dont know whats more important to them. I was an architecture major at TTU and a walk-on for baseball. You get to appreciate what coaching is. Seems like a disproportionately hostile response. ", "It's really special for us to be playing in his last season," Aggies guard Destiny Pitts said. Blair didnt find it easy upon his arrival from Arkansas nearly two decades ago. Blair joined TexAgs Radio on Monday morning to discuss life after basketball and so much more. It would have been 16 had the 2020 tournament not been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He is a natural at making anyone feel like an old friend, and that went a long way as he continued to build up every program he touched. Blair is well-known and well-liked throughout the SEC. Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial. Conference regular season and conference tournament champion 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. My job was to massage the egos. He was underpaid, he worked around facility issues, he had to better himself as a coach. Exam copy availability, 2023 Texas A&M University Press | Orders: 800-826-8911 | John H. Lindsey Building, Lewis St. | College Station, Texas 77843-4354. Sometimes you have to wait for things. I even watch WWE. Melissa Gregg is a Dallas police officer. [7] He also started the boys and girls golf team, and served as its first coach as well. Wed take the kids home after practice just load up cars take them home. [9], Blair was inducted into the Ladyjack Hall of Fame during halftime of the Ladyjacks game against the Aggies on December 2, 2008. He still talks to others from those teams frequently. [5] He earned his master's degree in education from the school in 1974. Abe Lemons once described the difference between coaching and most other jobs. Finish last in your league, and they call you an idiot, said Lemons, Texas basketball coach from 1976-82. 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. . Im 72, but a young 72. Its been great this year to reflect at every gym we go to, to talk to other coaches Ive known for years, he said. It took 10 more years before he decided to step away. In other sports Im pulling for the veteran coaches. Texas A&M's Gary Blair is retiring. Theres no one in my generation who will ever eclipse his achievements. Been engaged a year to a wonderful lady. You want to see people compete. When I max out, Im juggling lot of hats. They put me into the office to work and I had a great year. 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. GARY BLAIR, head women's basketball coach at Texas A&M University since 2003, led the Aggies to an NCAA national championship in 2011. After this season his 50th coaching Blair will retire and leave a stamp the size of Texas on the game of basketball. 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. The Aggies (14-12, 4-10 SEC) will miss the NCAA Tournament this season unless they stun in the conference tournament. Gary Blairs teams have earned an NCAA tournament berthevery year from2006-2021. Leon Barmore was the Bobby Knight of womens basketball. We cant get separation on teams, no one plays us close, our defense is solid but were not stopping people theyre scoring on us. He was also interviewing for the New Mexico State job, which he didnt want to take. Texas A&M was picked to finish second in the SEC preseason coaches' poll, and is ranked No. The very best thing I could do was stay with those girls. Blair was 65 when he won that title with the Aggies. Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, right, and his wife, Nan, make a long-distance relationship work. He surpassed former men's coach Shelby Metcalf this season with 443 victories at A&M to become the winningest basketball coach in school history. 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. Brent Zwerneman is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle covering Texas A&M athletics. [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. Blair did the impossible. 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. "I initially stayed behind because our son (Matt) was a senior in high school," Nan said of why she's never left Fayetteville, Ark. When I cant compete for championships anymore, its time to leave. 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. A&M's Blair, Arkansas-based wife make marriage work - Chron Blair notched his 750th career win last month. They didnt miss. kissing my wife on the floor of Conseco Fieldhouse . I can tell you everything about Wimbledon because I got to watch a lot of it. "[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. "When they're together, you can just tell how much they care about each other," A&M guard Sydney Carter said. I have a lot of responsibility, a lot of flexibility, and I argue with my assistants all the time. A few of them came in and said they needed a basketball coach, he said. When I got to Arkansas I needed a national recruiter, so I hired Tom Collen from Purdue. In basketball I stayed in shape, but I couldnt shoot a lick. The team, unranked in the national polls, received a No. But the way you saw their confidence grow, the way they lit up in the gym and had so much fun and worked so hard. The girls asked me if I'd coach them. I hired him from $72,000 to $14,000, and he had kept up with everything through his high school, and he knew so much about recruiting nationally through AAU. He should do it on his terms. 2023 Maroon & White LP. 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! Whether youre shopping Way Day 2023 or Walmart, theres an al fresco set for you. Blair, 65, also became the oldest women's coach to win a national championship. Blair oozes pride when he mentions the women who helped him find his calling all those years ago. Vic Schaefer came with me when Tom took the Colorado job. 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.. So Blair will walk away this season after making a massive mark in so many places. Gary Blair - Women's Basketball Coach - Texas A&M Athletics - 12thMan.com Would be hard to leave that. Like Blair, Slocum is the winningest coach in A&M history in his sport. When theyre young we do a lot of individual practices to keep improving their skill level. You cant explain how special it is to see your team work that way and win those games.. Coachs Chair: Gary Blair, Texas A&M University, No. Well, I get the opportunity to have about 35 to 38 still left in me this year. Pub Date: 01/27/2017
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. Well hold on to these and were not finished recruiting.. [7] He was initially the boy's P.E. So special, in fact, that when Blair was offered the opportunity to move up to the collegiate basketball level and coach at Louisiana Tech in 1980, he was unsure if he would go. He was stationed in Okinawa during his duty. But the time has come.. Thats when we brought in Johnnie Harris, who did a wonderful job for me. Joe McKeown, the head women's basketball coach at Northwestern delivered the introduction speech by videotape. From 1993-2003, he was the head coach at Arkansas. Ive got a saying: today I gave all I had, and what I kept Ive lost forever. 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. After I completed my failure in architecture, I had to sit out a semester and a summer before I could come back, and by that time baseball was over. I apologize. In womens basketball, we went to state the first year we could go to state in 1976. 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. I was in the middle of that with recruiting. A Dallas native, Blair was the head coach at South Oak Cliff High school from 1973-1980. Welcome back, Gary", "Built from scratch: Blair, Texas A&M on a roll", "Women's head coach Gary Blair seeks more improvement through patience", "It's strictly business for Texas A&M on this visit to California", "On women's basketball: Texas A&M completes tournaround", "Blair picks up No. When R.C. I lived for that. [17], On April 3, 2011, the Aggies defeated top-seeded Stanford 6362 to advance to the national title game. He got the nickname "The Worm" from playing pinball back in the day. "She's seven years younger than I am, so we'll see.". He is listed in the top 35 of the all-time winningest NCAA Division I women's basketball coaches, and he is one of the few coaches to guide three different schools to national rankings and NCAA Tournament berths. Our student body is 62,000 strong, and there are other things in life just as important as basketball. Where is this coming from?, We understand. 2,868 Views | . Brent Zwerneman is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle covering Texas A&M athletics. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair announced on Thursday that this season will be the last of his historic career. Gary Blair Court at Reed Arena will be officially dedicated during a pregame . "He has a lot of wisdom. Well, I wasnt busy coaching baseball, so I jumped on that chance. He loved the players. I got the girl's coaching job by default because nobody else wanted it. "Skinny," Nan said, chuckling, of the man who would later lead Texas A&M to a national title thanks in part to his recruiting acumen. I dont want to just win ball games; I want to make a difference and be in every game. Every possession is a game in itself. Joni Taylor. What Im trying to do is max out every day. You just told em you were looking for basketball players, Metcalf said with a shrug, not lovers.. He was only 5-foot-11. The games and wins, sure. TexAgs is an independent site and is not affiliated with Texas A&M University. 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. Im not like Bush 41, but like Bush 43. Jim Schlossnagle emphasizes 'sense of urgency' moving forward, 2024 forward George Turkson nearing the end of his recruiting process, Miami Dolphins select Devon Achane in the third round, 84th overall, Jacksonville Jaguars select Antonio Johnson in the fifth round, 160th overall, Indianapolis Colts select Jaylon Jones in the seventh round, 221st overall.
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