Walter "Sam" Williams (June 29, 1924 – October 15, 2012)[1] was an American college basketball coach. He is considered an early pioneer of racial integration in the college game[2] and is the University of Texas–Pan American's all-time leader in wins (244),[3] including its only men's basketball national championship in 1962–63.[2] Williams is referred to as the "Father of Broncs Basketball" at Texas Pan–American.[1] He oversaw the school's transition from a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) program into an NCAA Division I program.[1] During his 15 year tenure, he had 11 winning seasons, 4 20-win seasons, and 244 total victories. He also coached the baseball team for one season.
| Biographical details | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 29, 1924 Daingerfield, Texas, U.S. |
| Died | October 15, 2012 (aged 88) McAllen, Texas, U.S. |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| Basketball | |
| 195?–1958 | McAllen HS |
| 1958–1973 | Pan American |
| Baseball | |
| 1961 | Pan American |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 244–164 (college basketball) 7–16 (college baseball) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Basketball NAIA National championship (1963) | |
| Awards | |
| |
The UTPA Fieldhouse, where the team plays their home games, had its center court rededicated to Williams on November 20, 2010.[2] He was also named head coach emeritus, becoming just the second former coach at Texas Pan–American to earn that honor (baseball coach Al Ogletree was the first).[2]
Williams died on October 15, 2012, from natural causes.[1]
Head coaching record
editBasketball
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pan American Broncs (Big State Conference) (1958–1962) | |||||||||
| 1958–59 | Texas Pan-American | 12–11 | 3–5 | ||||||
| 1959–60 | Texas Pan-American | 17–9 | 3–5 | ||||||
| 1960–61 | Texas Pan-American | 15–16 | 5–3 | ||||||
| 1961–62 | Texas Pan-American | 24–6 | 9–1 | NAIA second round | |||||
| Texas–Pan American Broncs (Independent) (1962–1973) | |||||||||
| 1962–63 | Texas-Pan American | 25–6 | NAIA champions | ||||||
| 1963–64 | Texas-Pan American | 28–6 | NAIA Runner-up | ||||||
| 1964–65 | Texas-Pan American | 19–7 | |||||||
| 1965–66 | Texas-Pan American | 15–12 | |||||||
| 1966–67 | Texas-Pan American | 15–9 | |||||||
| 1967–68 | Texas-Pan American | 21–6 | NCAA College Division second round | ||||||
| 1968–69 | Texas-Pan American | 9–16 | |||||||
| 1969–70 | Texas-Pan American | 8–16 | |||||||
| 1970–71 | Texas-Pan American | 13–3 | |||||||
| 1971–72 | Texas-Pan American | 17–7 | |||||||
| 1972–73 | Texas-Pan American | 4–22 | |||||||
| Texas Pan American: | 244–160 | 24–12 | |||||||
| Total: | 244-160 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
Baseball
edit| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pan American Broncs (Independent) (1961–1961) | |||||||||
| 1961 | Pan American | 7–16 | |||||||
| Total: | 7–16 | ||||||||
|
National champion
Postseason invitational champion
| |||||||||
References
edit- ^ a b c d "Walter Sam Williams obituary". The Monitor. Legacy.com. October 25, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2014.
- ^ a b c d UTPA Athletics Media Relations (November 22, 2010). "UTPA rededicates Sam Williams Court, Williams named Head Coach Emeritus". University of Texas–Pan American. Retrieved March 24, 2018.
- ^ "UTPA Mourns Passing of Sam Williams". UTPAbroncs.com. University of Texas–Pan American. October 22, 2012. Retrieved February 21, 2014.