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. "We couldn't have done this 20 years ago, because we didn't have cellphones.". A Dallas native, Blair was the head coach at South Oak Cliff High school from 1973-1980. 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. She was ahead of her time. What is the foundation for building a good team culture? A Dallas native, Blair was the head coach at South Oak Cliff High school from 1973-1980. [20], Gary Blair was named the assistant coach of the 1996 R. William Jones Cup Team. See our updatedPrivacy Policyto find out more about cookies and how we use your data. You get to appreciate what coaching is. In the 200708 season, Blair led his squad to a school-first NCAA Elite Eight appearance and a 298 overall record. 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. [3][4], Blair is also actively involved with the community. He was underpaid, he worked around facility issues, he had to better himself as a coach. Weve done a good job of bringing in the right kids with the right parents. Chennedy (Carter) hit a three and I thought we would pull it off, but Georgia controlled the OT. My all-city friend came to see us play the other day, and hes the bench warmer now. You have to get outside. In 36 years as a head coach, he has had 35 winning seasons, 30 20-win seasons and 41 postseason victories, which ranks fifth among active coaches. Gary Blair became Texas A&M's coach in 2003. Mobile phones. This portable Cubii under-desk elliptical is $129 off today. We missed last year.. When I go back to reunions I feel good because a lot of those old people dont nearly look as good. Then I give them responsibility and let them work. All the ones youve met and coached and had in your life. He bowled on a faculty team with their mother, Shirley. He was stationed in Okinawa during his duty. Sometimes, we can agree to disagree. Although I am excited to begin a new chapter in my life, I am even more excited to compete this year. Blair will complete a 50-year coaching career when this season ends. They made it to the UIL Texas state tournament five years in a row and won the title three times. 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. 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. 500 With Win Over ISU", "Aggies claim first NCAA women's basketball championship", "Texas A&M women's coach Blair to retire at season's end", "Coaching great Blair inducted into Ladyjack Hall of Fame", "Southland legends Dumars, Blair to enter Conference Hall of Honor", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Gary_Blair&oldid=1149421149, 2007 Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Coach of the Year, 2006 Women's Basketball News Service National Coach of the Year, 2002 Texas High School Basketball Hall of Famer, 1995 Women's Basketball News Service National Coach of the Year, Five-time District VI Converse Coach of the Year, This page was last edited on 12 April 2023, at 03:53. He was also inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2023. 2023 Maroon & White LP. Blair did the impossible. The couple doesn't really discuss where they'll end up. Im around all the other events; Im the only coach thats in a civic club. Bobby Knight would have a hard time coaching today, and Barmore. But you dont change your values and your principles, and when those kids were sitting there with their parents, I had respect from them with their family. I knew him from Sam Houston State when I was at Stephen F. He was making $44,000 at Sam Houston and I brought him in at $55,000. You can't stay inside the whole day. 6.12 x 9.25 x 0 in 288 pp. Thomas Graning, FRE / Associated Press COLLEGE STATION The shortest. I never sat down during our games for 19 years. I just need an arena with 94 feet to be able to compete., - Gary Blair on being honored in opposing gyms this season. (Elsa / Getty Images). 9 Replies | He has led the Aggies to five conference titles, including the 2021 SEC regular-season title and the 2011 national championship. 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. 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. [7] He was initially the boy's P.E. [4] He would coach under Leon Barmore, who replaced Hogg. "We both have careers. 3:36p, 3/5/20. 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. If youve ever spent any time with Blair, you know the story or pieces of it, anyway. A&M is all about leadership. What else can they do to us? Blair wondered Monday night of the selection committee. But there werent a lot of high school coaching jobs available. All of my 750 wins have happened after I turned 40, because I was a late bloomer. 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. The key to keeping a good sense of humor through this long stroll called life? To me, thats the least of my worries. When I got to Arkansas I needed a national recruiter, so I hired Tom Collen from Purdue. . They used to ride in vans and wear tube socks. On Thursday night, Blair will coach the Texas A&M women's team at . Brent Zwerneman is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle covering Texas A&M athletics. In the NCAA tournament, the team lost to eventual national champion Tennessee. 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.. I miss talking about the game I watched the other night. Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, right, and his wife, Nan, make a long-distance relationship work. The eternally quippable Metcalf, Lemons and Garrido all have since passed on to that coaches comedy club in the clouds, but theres at least one old-school coach in the region still owning the fastest facetiousness in Texas. For me, hes been almost like a grandfather, she said. 2023 Maroon & White LP. Relationships like that make it difficult for Blair to walk away. Texas A&M women's basketball coach Gary Blair announced on Thursday that this season will be the last of his historic career. Like Blair, Slocum is the winningest coach in A&M history in his sport. The Aggies (22-10) are a third seed in the NCAA Tournament, and a favorite to emerge from the first two rounds in College Station and wind up in the Sweet 16 in Raleigh, N.C. 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. 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 . I can get something out of all three of those. Hes the winningest coach in Texas A&M history with a 430-170 record in 18 seasons. [14], Following their successful season, Blair was named the Women's Basketball News Service National Coach of the Year. Were playing in a good arena, Blair said, and we won in Austin earlier this year.. "It's a French country house, and probably the only one in Bryan-College Station," Gary said. TexAgs is an independent site and is not affiliated with Texas A&M University. The team finished third in the Big 12, and reached the semifinals in the Big 12 Women's Championship Tournament. [3], Blair's first head coaching experience at the collegiate level came at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas. 15th seed Troy in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. 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. 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. Prairie View A&M wants to leave the Texas A&M University System. His teams have appeared in the NCAA Tournament 15 consecutive seasons. I got the girl's coaching job by default because nobody else wanted it. I played ping pong and basketball with Dennis Rodman when he was a kid. The numbers speak for themselves. Ive had such a great career, he said. You couldnt hope for anything more. We cant get separation on teams, no one plays us close, our defense is solid but were not stopping people theyre scoring on us. 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. [3] For the first time in his career, however, one of Blair's team suffered a losing season. All rights reserved. [9], Blair was inducted into the Ladyjack Hall of Fame during halftime of the Ladyjacks game against the Aggies on December 2, 2008. Texas A&M coach Gary Blair, against Mississippi earlier this season, has his own style of wit and wisdom. Over the past 19 seasons, the program . When I cant compete for championships anymore, its time to leave. I pull for all the older men and women. I have no regrets and just hold my colleagues, my players and the game in such high regards. I started out with something else in mind and I ended up on this path, coaching all these young women over the years. Finish last in medical school, and they call you a doctor.. 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. 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. [3], In his third season with the Aggies, Blair guided his team to their first Associated Press Top 25 ranking in ten years. But the time has come.. They were ready to go. ", "I love Aggieland, and I love Fayetteville," Gary said. Brent is the author of four published books about Texas A&M, three related to A&M athletics. From 1993-2003, he was the head coach at Arkansas. We were in Okinawa when everyone was trying to pull troops back. You know, you just remember all those wonderful things, he said. Blair, 76, has won 838 games in his career at Stephen F. Austin, Arkansas and A&M, where he arrived in 2003. None of the big six major cities in Texas had womens athletics before Title IX. I turned it down to stay with the women. At age 27, he used his G.I. Texas A&M's Gary Blair is retiring. He didn't play high school sports because South Oak Cliff was so hard to make teams back in those days. Its time to sit up in the stands and do what you dosecond guess the coaches.. Senior captain Jordan Nixon admitted she was caught off guard when Blair informed the team this would be his final season. He grew up playing baseball, and as a 128-pound center fielder at Bryan Adams High School, he received all-city honors in 1963. Blairs final season with the Aggiesbegins on Nov. 9 against A&M-Corpus Christi at Reed Arena. Brent is the author of four published books about Texas A&M, three related to A&M athletics. At each new place, there was a new challenge and something to build, but it was always worth it, he said. Timing is everything in coaching. Hes done tremendous things in the game of basketball. You name it. 2,868 Views | I remember thinking that I wished I could somehow stop time., GARY BLAIR, head womens basketball coach at Texas A&M University since 2003, led the Aggies to an NCAA national championship in 2011. [5] He earned his master's degree in education from the school in 1974. [14] This marked the first time in Aggie history that the women's basketball team had earned consecutive NCAA tournament berths. We were just coming off of a state championship team and I had just got married. The following year his team, which consisted of 9 freshmen and sophomores, won 23 games and reached the second round of the NCAA tournament. Hes helped me a lot off the court, too.. Since then, the team has won more than 70 percent of its . "This little, good-looking redhead walked by," Blair said. He was an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech from 1980-1985 and head coach at Stephen F. Austin from 1985-1993. And a volleyball coach, and a track coach. . We were up five in OT and we struggled so much, but Georgia played great. 10-2 This Year. I even watch WWE. He was a good kid, and he grew eight inches after high school. Slocum has always been active in the Bryan-College Station community. . We hired assistant Amy Sheridan, who played at Sam Houston State with Vic. Theyre not going to honor me after we beat their butt on the court. I do not miss that, but I miss the evaluations. 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! RUSTY BURSON, author of. Im a product of Title XI, as I was the first man to coach women in the city of Dallas. All rights reserved. Congratulations on his upcoming (I assume) nuptials! "They make a difference," Nan said. Now Texas A&M women's basketball head coach Gary Blair is ready to welcome everyone back this year for the 18th annual event to help support Special Olympics. He was raised in the Forest Hills neighborhood of Dallas. Sometimes you have to wait for things. Before anyone wanted him on a field, though, a group of young ladies needed him on a court. I flunked out of architecture, which didnt make me eligible for baseball. Slocum, who has been undergoing chemotherapy treatments, helped him make peace with his decision. Wishing you all the best in your retirement. Trial only available to users who have never subscribed or participated in a previous trial. "Coach Blair is a legend in women's basketball and college sports," Texas A&M athletic director Ross Bjork said. Bryce Young vs. C.J. 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 . Sonja Hogg is the first lady of college basketball: she knew how to dress, how to press, and she knew how to recruit. 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. The very best thing I could do was stay with those girls. Blair will be, too. The focus instead will be on Blairs final season. Oct. 28, 2021 Updated: Oct. 28, 2021 11:36 a.m. He should do it on his terms. [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].
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