Former Aggies Lady's Hoops Coach Gary Blair Announced as Nominee for Naismith Hall of Fame

Gary Blair has the 12-most wins in Division I history with 852 victories in 27 years as a college basketball coach. On Wednesday, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced he is a nominee for their respected Hall.

Blair, a Dallas native, boasts 35 winning seasons and a whopping 30 20-win seasons and is one of just three coaches ever to have taken two or more programs to the final four.

Blair led the Arkansas Razorbacks women's team to the final four of the NCAA Tournament in 1997-98 and the Texas A&M Aggies women to a national championship in 2010-11.

Blair is also one of just six women's basketball coaches to have a Division I court named in their honor. He won 444 games and five conference titles and took A&M to 16 NCAA Tournaments in 10 seasons.

Blair is considered a pioneer of the game and put the Texas A&M women's team on the map. He arrived in College Station in 2003, taking over an Aggies team that was the worst in the Big 12 the previous season. By 2004, Blair's Aggies earned their first postseason invite since 1996.

Overall, in Blair's first three years as the head coach of the Aggies, A&M home attendance increased 156 percent, with a school record of 11,088 fans watching the team play the Baylor Bears.

This year marks Blair's second nomination, and finalists for the Class of 2022 will be announced during NBA All-Star weekend on Feb. 17 in Salt Lake City, Utah.

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