Retired Aggies Coach Gary Blair to be Enshrined into Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame
Former Texas A&M Aggies women's basketball head coach and all-around basketball coaching legend Gary Blair is finally getting his due and being recognized.
Blair, along with NBA coaching legend Greg Popovich was named alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Tony Parker, Pau Gasol, Dwyane Wade, and Becky Hammon as the headliners of the 2023 class.
“This is an incredible honor that I never thought was possible,” Blair said via press release. “I am thankful to the Naismith for this recognition, and I am blessed to represent the five schools that I was able to coach for.
"When I am enshrined in August, I will be enshrined with all of the players, coaches, support staff, administrators and fans that helped me get there. This is our moment, and I am excited to celebrate everything we accomplished.”
Blair, who is already established in nine different Halls of Fame, will be enshrined in Springfield, Massachusetts from Aug. 11-12.
The 77-year-old ended his 19-season tenure with the Aggies last season as the school’s winningest basketball coach with 444 victories. He also ranks 12th all-time in Division I wins with 852.
After spending 10 seasons in Fayetteville coaching the Arkansas Razorbacks, Blair made the move to Aggieland in 2003 and inherited an Aggies program that hadn’t enjoyed a winning season in eight years.
His basketball and A&M legacy was solidified with a 76-70 win over Notre Dame in the 2011 National Championship.
"I'm very passionate about my job, and I'm very passionate about the job that is in front of us,” Blair said at his introductory press conference. “Sometimes in life, you have to be ready for change. I plan on being here, and this will be my last stop.
"It's basically a sleeping giant. It was underachieving. It has all the resources. It has the stadium and the recruiting base. All it needed was for someone to come in and restart the engines.''
And start the engines, Blair did.
This past season Blair attended every home game sitting just a few rows up of the "Gary Blair Court" logo inside Reed Arena.
“A&M is a destination school as most of you know,” Blair said during his retirement press conference in October 2021. “This is my destination. I will always be in the stands following every one of you.”
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