Watch Don Haskins And UTEP Make History In 1966

If you're from El Paso, went to UTEP and/or are a college basketball fan; you've heard the story of that epic 1966 championship game. Did you know you can actually still it?

As "March Madness" begins, we also celebrate the anniversary of an historic basketball tournament that that saw an underdog team win the championship while smashing the color barrier in college sports.

Coach Don Haskins may have been the first to do what he did but, thanks to his actions, he wouldn't be the last.

In 1966, racism was still very apparent in the USA and that included the world of college sports. That same year, El Paso's little old Texas Western, (it wouldn't become UTEP until March, 1967), had put together a pretty good basketball team.

READ MORE: UTEP Has Had Many Name Changes

Thanks to Fort Bliss being home to soldiers from all over the USA and being right on the border, El Paso was/is a multi-cultural city where racism wasn't too big of a deal. Skin color didn't matter much but winning sure as hell did.

 The 1966 College Basketball Season

1965 - 1966 would be a championship season for Texas Western and a young coach named Don Haskins but first, they had to get to the championship.

Led by Don Haskins, a gruff, straight-talking coach known as "The Bear," the Miners lit up the 1965-66 regular season with a 23-1 record. A tight-knit group of blacks, whites and one Hispanic, the team finished the season ranked third in the final AP college basketball poll. - UTEP

How Did The 1966 College Basketball Tournament Go?

In the 1st round, Texas Western beat Oklahoma City, 89-74. In the 2nd round, they beat beat Cincinnati, 78-76 in overtime. Next came Kansas, who they beat 81-80 in double overtime and then an 85-78 win over Utah got 'em to the big one.

The championship game would be between Texas Western and the top-ranked, (all white), University of Kentucky Wildcats led by legendary coach Adolph Rupp.

How Did Don Haskins Make History?

He did what he thought was best for the team and, (despite warnings and threats), started 5 black players. A first in college sports at the time. There was no ESPN, YouTube or social media then but the game was important enough that there is film. Check it out:

Coach Haskins was pretty humble about the whole thing, saying he just wanted to win the game and did so by putting in his best players. His strategy all along, really. He won more than just a championship, he won a victory over racism.

The Aftermath Of The 1966 College Basketball Championship

After the 1966 championship, college teams throughout the South and elsewhere started to "aggressively" recruit, play and start black players; bringing an end to years and years of racial segregation. If that little clip above wasn't enough for you, you can watch the entire game here.

Coach Haskins stayed with UTEP until 1999 and, throughout his career, made UTEP a powerhouse in the NCAA basketball world. The Haskins years were indeed UTEP basketballs "glory" years.

A movie about that '65-'66 season was made, titled "Glory Road, the Don Haskins center "bears" his name and a statue of "The Bear" stands in front of it.